Maybe if I publish it...

I'll have to follow through!

Soon, I hope to be a whole new person -- well, maybe just a whole new size. As of today, May 24, 2010 I am 185 pounds and wearing (squeezing into) a size 16. WOW! That was REALLY hard to type. I am the biggest I've ever been with the exception of being pregnant, but during those times I had the excuse of a baby being in the belly.

When I was pregnant with Braelyn, I gained 32 pounds. I went from 177 lbs to 209 lbs. Let me tell you that when I hit that 200 mark, I thought my life was over! How in the world would I recover from that?!? Surprisingly, I did. Of course, it never happens as quickly as one would hope.

By the time I got pregnant with Donny, I was down to 176 (I think.). With him, I never made it to the 200 mark...hallelujah! However, taking the weight off this time is MUCH harder. Maybe it's just the everyday stress (that sounds bad...but I can't think of a better word) of being a full-time working mother that keeps me from being able to take better care of myself.

Today, that all stops! I need to live a healthier lifestyle not only for me but for my family. I joined a gym back in January and have tried making a good effort to go regularly. Something ALWAYS comes up (you know like wanting to take a nap, going home to clean, etc.). There is always an excuse.

An old co-worker has truly inspired me. I've been bugging her lately with a LOT of questions. She went from a size 20 to an 8 in a year. She lost 70 pounds! If she can do that, surely I can lose a mere 20 pounds. No more excuses. My plan is to go to the gym at least 4 days a week. I went today, and according to my heart rate monitor, I burned 631 calories. That's more than I've ever burned in one trip since I started going to the gym in January! Not a bad start!

I plan to post more about this journey every week. Check back...and when/if you notice that I need some encouragement...PLEASE encourage away!

If I had a before picture, I'd post it...but I'm always the one behind the camera these days! :)

Is it just me?

Don't get me wrong. I would NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER give up my kids or family for anything! But sometimes I wonder, "Is it just me?"

After having kids, my social life was definitely put up on the top shelf where even I (at 5'10") can't reach it. Time with friends became far and few inbetween. I can't remember the last time I had a girls' night out. Sometimes, Often, I catch myself wondering if I even still HAVE friends.

Today was one of those days that I felt like one of the last friend relationships I feel like I have has fallen apart. Since going through her own life changes, I've suddenly been kicked to the curb. Maybe that wasn't her intention. Maybe she doesn't even realize she's done it. Or maybe she thinks I have enough on my plate already. Sometimes we I need to hear about another person's life as an escape from the realities of my own. (I guess that's the ever so curious side of me.)

Perhaps the answer for me is to join a playgroup or maybe even start one. This way we can go through life's ups and downs together -- and understand where we're all coming from since we're going through this journey of motherhood together.

Bluebonnets 2010

My goal for next year is to find some better bluebonnets, but at least I was able to get some cute pictures of my kids.

Long Overdue...9 Months

Donny turned 9 months old on April 2nd. I can't believe he's already 9 months (well, 10 months now!). I thought time went by fast with Braelyn, but it is FLYING by with this second baby of ours. He's crawling, pulling up, cruising, and into EVERYTHING!!! I just know that he's going to start walking any day now. He's been trying to balance himself on his knees lately, so it's only a matter of time before he realizes he can do the same thing on his feet.

Donny has 5 teeth - 3 on top and 2 on bottom. This is also something different from Braelyn. Her teeth always came in pairs, but there is definitely something cute about Donny's sweet 5 teeth smile!

Donny is still my quiet baby. He's able to say "mama" and "dada" and something that sounds like "hi". I still don't know if he means what he says, but the sounds are definitely there. He also started waving 'bye-bye'. Apparently, he's known how to do this for a while because he always waved to Daddy when he dropped him off at daycare. It was a few weeks later that he waved for me. I thought it was a BIG deal being his "first" time and all. Boy, was I wrong!

Here are Donny's 9 month stats:

Weight - 20lb 13oz

Height 28 1/2 inches

Head 45.8 cm

He's definitely slowed down where his physical growth is concerned, but he's still got some chunk to him.

Life is good, and we're enjoying making memories with our family of 4. :o)

Tag

Tagged!


I was tagged by Amy. This is how the "game" works.


1. Open you very first photo folder on your computer.


2. Scroll down to the 10th picture, copy it on your blog, and write a post about it.


3. Then choose 5 other people to tag.

Hmmm...Where to begin...

First of all, can you believe that I'm feeding Donny and EMPTY bottle? I must have had my attention on that awesome hairdo Braelyn is sportin'! Baby Donny doesn't let me do much of the bottle holding anymore. BOO...time goes by way too fast!

Also, notice that Braelyn and I have the same PJ's on. Only cool people can pull that off. Ha!

I noticed that there are cards taped to my door. I do this every year with the Christmas cards I get. Photo cards are my favorite. I love to look at pictures of families or just the kiddos.

What else? Oh, notice the hideous bookshelf in the background. That has since been replaced by a media storage center with DOORS. I remember how much I hated having to pick up books/cd's/dvd's all the time when Braelyn started crawling, and I refuse to go through that again with Donny (as if that will stop him...lol).

And now for the tagging part. I don't know of 5 people who read my blog, but I tag Jamie and Jennifer. :o)

Father Time, Please SLOW Down!

Donny is already 7 1/2 months old!! We've been going through some changes -- not just developmentally, but with diet and medications. UGH!

Donny is scooting all over the place. I thought the army crawl was funny when Braelyn did it, and it's still funny to see Donny pulling himself around with his arms. One of these days, he'll figure out that his legs will help him to go much faster! Donny has discovered that the receiver box under the TV is one of his favorite toys. I think he's ready to push some buttons. :o)

Over the last month or so, Donny has been switched to 2 different formulas. The Ped. changed us to Similac Alimentum at first, but Donny refused most of it. The little bit that we did get him to take came right back out. I got to wear the bottle's contents more times than I'd like. We've finally settled on a soy-based formula. He's now using prescription strength hydrocortisone on his face and some prescription cream on the rest of his body.

This week we went for a follow-up appointment with the pediatrician to see if the changes we've made have helped. Donny's skin has cleared up quite a bit, but it still has some pretty bad flare-ups occasionally. We don't really know what's causing it. The doctor sent us for a full food allergy test after our appointment. Results came back normal - no food allergies.

Now, we'll be seeing a dermatologist next week. Hopefully, he'll have some insight on what we need to do.

As you can see, Donny doesn't seem to be bothered by all this. He's such a HAPPY baby! Who could ask for more than that? :o)

6 Month Stats

I took Donny for his 6 month check up last week. Here are his stats:

Weight - 20 lb. 5 oz.
Height - 28 inches
Head - I can't remember this, but it was in the 90th percentile.

This boy is BIG! He's in the 90-95th percentile for everything. We've still been dealing with some skin issues, so the doctor recommended a whole bunch of changes for Donny - new formula, new bath soap, hydrocortisone once daily, Aquaphor twice daily, bath daily, and an antiobiotic for 10 days.

Donny is NOT a fan of the new formula. It smells awful, so I can only imagine how it tastes. This is new for us since Donny LOVES LOVES LOVES to eat!

After making all these changes, his skin really does look better...but Don and I can't help but wonder WHAT really is making the difference? Is it the hella expensive formula, the antibiotic, or all the other stuff?

I have to make an appointment to go see a dermatologist soon, and we have our follow-up appointment with the pediatrician in 3 weeks.

I know that we're doing this to help Donny, but I want my happy and 'love to eat' baby back!