Back from Hiding

So I haven't posted in a couple of weeks.  I got a stress fracture in my left foot, and I haven't been able to do much exercising, so my weight has been holding steady.  We also went out of town for a few days and ate terribly, so I'm glad it isn't worse.  We had lots of fun with our good friends at Great Wolf Lodge.  Topher was so excited to play in the water park and to play "point" (Magiquest).  It was nice to have a bit of a break from our usual routine, although vacations with young children aren't quite vacations for the mommy.  I managed to have a nice time despite my foot.  I can't wait to go back when I can tackle the water park for real!
Yesterday I had the joy of attending my friend Liz's baby shower.  I had fun celebrating the coming arrival of a very special little boy.  He is lucky to have such a great mommy (and daddy, too)!  I got to get my craft on decorating scrapbook pages for little Thomas, and who doesn't love oohing and ahhing over sweet baby stuff!
Last night I went to my freshman roommate Christine's bachelorette party.  It was definitely interesting for this tired old mommy to get a night out on the town.  I even sang karaoke!  It was great to reconnect with old friends.  I was talking with Jenny, whom I haven't seen in ages, and she was telling me how she reads this blog and that it inspired her to start trying to lose weight too.  It really meant a lot to me to hear that my crazy ramblings meant something to someone else.  I'm not really used to people looking up to me, but it feels good to know that all this hard work is inspiring at least one person.  So I'm looking forward to getting back on track, and REALLY hoping my foot gets better soon!

The Versatile Blogging Award

So I have been really slack about catching up on this, but Diane over at Just Simply D nominated me!  I am so honored.  It's nice to know that people care about what I have to say.  Thanks, Diane!  :)

So here are the rules of receiving this 'award':

1. Nominate up to 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging
2. Let the nominated bloggers know they have been nominated
3. Share 7 random facts about yourself
4. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to them in your post
5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post

Ok, so 7 random facts about me:
1. I like to make my own soap when I can afford the supplies.
2. I love anything pumpkin.
3. I would some day like to own a llama farm.
4. I will correct people (even ones I don't know) for improper grammar usage.
5. I love rain.  I would like to live somewhere where it rains a lot.
6. I have an inner narrator who describes my everyday ramblings.  She has a British accent.
7. I will put ketchup on just about anything.

I would like to nominate:
1. Brooke at The Ah Ha Moment 
2. Mommy's Losing Rolls 
3. Matt at The Triathlete Dad 
4. Jennifer at Just Jenn

Can't wait to read your 7 facts! 

Sunday Weigh-In

Today's Weight: 240.4
BMI: 41.3
Weekly Loss: 3.6 lbs
Total Lost: 32.6 lbs!!!!!

That's right!  I finally broke through that 30 lb barrier!  I am so excited!  I don't think there are enough exclamation points for this!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, now that I got that out here are some comparison pics:

And if those weren't awesome enough, I have lost 23 inches! (4.5 chest, 5.5 waist, 6 hips, 2 arm, 5 thigh)

I had some other stuff I was going to post about, but I think it will have to wait for tomorrow.  This stands alone.  Woo hoo!

Sunday Weigh-In

Today's Weight: 244
BMI: 41.9
Weekly Loss: 2 lbs
Total Lost: 29 lbs

Back on track this week.  I am still hovering just above the 30 lb mark.  I hope that I will finally see that goal this week.  Earlier in the week I weighed less, but I messed up Saturday night.  I know you're not supposed to weigh yourself more than once a week, but I do, so sue me.  I'm not going to beat myself up over it too much, but it is a real eye-opener for me.  Was that bread really worth it?  No.  It may have tasted really good at the time, but I over-ate and felt sick later.  And it definitely was not worth the weight gain.  Old habits die hard...

A little humor to brighten your day...

This morning I took the boys to Target to pick up a few things.  Topher begged to walk rather than ride in the cart, so against my better judgement, I let him.  I was examining some sports socks (still trying to acquire good running gear), and turned to find lacey thongs strewn all over the floor.  After my initial shock, it was all I could do not to die laughing.  Then I told him to help me pick them up and put them back, and he slipped on some, haha!  So we were walking along, and Topher continued to pull stuff off of shelves, so I told him he was going to have to sit in the cart.  I went to move stuff from the seat area, and saw Luke (his carrier was in the basket of the cart) holding one of the thongs.  That little booger had thrown some in the cart, too.  Apparently he thinks I need nicer underwear.  Unfortunately, that will have to wait until I lose this weight.  It is so hard as a parent to try to be the proper disciplinarian when your kid does something that is just so ridiculously hilarious.

The other interesting part of my day happened when I went to the grocery store after kickboxing.  I went to check out, and my high school boy cashier was very enthusiastic about telling me all about himself while scanning my groceries.  He told me all about the grades he had received on his midterms, some record he broke in gym class that day, his girlfriend and the date they went on last night, and some picture she sent him today that he would show me, but he would get in trouble with his boss.  He then questioned my Halloween-themed reusable grocery bags and drilled me about why would I like Halloween (and managed to throw in his love of pumpkin pie).  In an attempt to continue the small talk while he was still scanning (I had a lot of stuff!) I said that the meal deal was the best invention they had come up with.  He responded with: "We didn't invent the meal deal.  We came up with it.  It is not an invention.  You have to be technical about these things."  ... Really.  Thank you for enlightening me.  Then I asked him about a problem I have been having with trying to register my bonus card online to get the ecoupons (it keeps telling me that the card is not registered in my name, but I tried every possible variation of my name that I could think of).  He told me that he could have checked what name the card was under, but that function is only available until 9:00 and it was 9:01... maybe if he hadn't talked so much, we could have gotten to that part before 9:00... THEN he suggested that I try seeing if it was under my MOM's name... Oh boy, don't you just love teenagers?

Sunday Weigh-Up

Today's Weight: 246
BMI: 42.2
Weekly Loss: -1lb
Total Lost: 27 lbs

So I am up another pound this week.  We went to the Melting Pot for our dating/engagement anniversary Thanks to Shari, Lauren, and Yuriy who felt bad that we didn't get to go on our actual anniversary.  We are blessed to have such great friends.  We had a really nice time, and the food was delicious.  I think it was well worth the gain.  :)  I will just have to work extra hard this week to get back on track. 

We had Luke dedicated at church this morning.  I am so proud to be that sweet boy's mommy.  I surely have the two best boys in the whole world! 

I will close by adding a few more pictures of my sweet boys:

 All the girls at the pool loved Luke:

Sunday Weigh-In

Today's Weight: 245
BMI: 42
Weekly Loss: -1 lb
Total Lost: 28 lbs

Gained a pound this week.  My husband's birthday was on Friday, and it turned into a major cheat day.  How can you not cheat at Olive Garden?  I think everyone deserves a nice treat once in a while.  We also had a great time out bowling with friends after dinner.  I haven't bowled in FOREVER, but I didn't do too bad.  It was fun having a kid-free evening with friends.

On Saturday I did my best to work off Friday's fun.  I ran in the morning.  I'm doing a slightly modified version of the c25k plan with a group at my church.  I was out there running around the church parking lot at 8am!  It helps to have a group to run with.  Then I ran some errands, followed by kickboxing, a moderately healthy lunch, and a 2 hour self-defense seminar.  I am one tired mommy.  I am glad Brandon is off tomorrow, so maybe I can sneak a little rest in somewhere.

Today was a rough day.  Our turtle died sometime during the night.  I feel awful.  I could tell she wasn't feeling well, but I put off taking her to the vet.  We just had Princess (one of our cats) in a couple of weeks ago, and we are pretty broke after that.  I just feel so terrible that they might have been able to help her.  Brandon keeps telling me that even if I had taken her in that they still might not have been able to help her, but I feel responsible.  She was a very cute and quirky turtle.  She will be missed.

Sunday Weigh-In

Today's Weight: 243.8
BMI: 41.8
Weekly Loss: 3.7 lbs
Total Lost: 29.2 lbs

Sooooo close to 30!  Starting c25k over again on Tuesday.  Hopefully I won't die. 

Slack Update

So I realize that I slacked off and didn't do my weigh-in post on Sunday (although I did weigh myself).  I gained a pound and a half.  I'm ok with that though.  I knew to expect some gain when starting vigorous strength training.  My clothes are fitting a lot better, which is the important thing.  I apparently picked the wrong time to have my loseit.com start automatically posting updates to facebook, because I got a lot of comments about not being upset about gaining when I wasn't upset.  Anyway, on to other news.

I rode a bike!  This is something I haven't done in a looooooong time (since middle school?).  My good friend Liz let me borrow her bike since she is too pregnant to ride it so that I could give it a try before I spend a lot of money to buy a bike.  Apparently you don't forget how to ride a bike.  That doesn't make it easy, though.  I was pretty wobbly, and huffing and puffing the whole way.  I just have to get used to doing it again.  Stopping while going downhill is proving to be a challenge...

Today I tried a something new in my adventures with green smoothies - arugula.  My advice to you is - DON'T!!!!!!!  I read online that people do actually do this regularly, and I tried just putting in a small amount, but it overpowered everything else in the smoothie.  It was so bad I couldn't drink it.  I was out of spinach and didn't feel like grating up carrots, so I figured, what the heck, I'll give this a try.  Now I'm mad that I wasted all they yummy fruit (pears and strawberries) that went in there.  At first I though that perhaps with more and stronger flavored fruit it could be good.... and then I took another sip and decided that even that wouldn't help.  I'll stick with spinach.

I have an interesting update in the cat search.  My neighbor thought she might have seen our missing cat in her yard late at night, and we thought we saw her one time as well, but she ran.  The other night I was in a tremendous amount of pain after kickboxing, so much so that I couldn't sleep.  I went downstairs to look for some pain medicine and try using a massager on my shoulders, and as is my habit now, looked outside for the cat.  There was a cat that looked like her sitting on our porch near where I have the food!  I was upset about the pain and lack of sleep, but if I hadn't be dealing with that, I would not have seen her.  It really reminded me that God uses things that seem unpleasant to do good things in our lives.  Sometimes it takes a bit of suffering to get us where we need to be.  Ok, back to the story:  It was too dark to tell for sure, and when I opened the door she bolted.  She ran across the street and climbed over a neighbor's fence.  I didn't want to freak anyone out running around at 4 in the morning barefoot in my pajamas, so after a few minutes of calling for her and shaking a bag of cat treats, I gave up.  I am in the process of trying to acquire a cat trap to see if I can catch her when she comes back looking for food.  If you are able to help with this, please let me know!  We just want this sweet kitty to be safe!

Sunday Weigh-In and Another One of Those Random Updates

Today's Weight: 245.8
BMI: 42.2
Weekly Loss: 3.2 lbs
Total Lost: 27.2 lbs

I kept meaning to make smaller updates earlier in the week, but things have been really crazy around here. 

Kickboxing has been going really well.  I love it, and I definitely see a lot of improvement already.  I feel more energized, and my smaller clothes that I pulled out about a week ago that were still kind of tight are already feeling loose.  In fact, my pants fell down during a class this week.  Extremely embarrassing!  New smaller workout pants have been ordered!

Thursday we took Luke to the geneticist.  The appointment didn't go quite like I expected.  The took a full family medical history, and did a physical exam, but I thought that there would be more testing that they could do.  It turns out our only options for testing are one blood test, or x-rays, both of which can be highly inconclusive, are very expensive, and are probably not going to be covered by our insurance.  So basically we are still following the wait and see approach.  I just wish we could have some answers.

On Saturday we got a new cat.  Earlier in the week a friend had posted on Facebook about an elderly couple looking for someone to take their cat because they had to move into an assisted living facility.  No shelters had room and they were going to put her down if no one would adopt her.  The week went by and no one had taken her, and I just couldn't let a perfectly healthy cat be killed.  Since she is used to being outside all of the time, we figured it wouldn't upset our other pets too much.  She hung around our house for a few hours.  I went out that evening to get her a collar and have an ID tag made, and she ran away.  Now no one will be able to figure out how to get her back to us.  We drove all over the neighborhood a few times last night and today looking for her with no luck.  I really hope she finds her way back soon.  :(

Sunday Weigh-In

Today's Weight: 249
BMI: 42.7
Weekly Loss: 1 lb
Total Lost: 24 lbs

You Don't Want to Mess with Me

Today I tried my first kickboxing class!  It was so much fun!  It was also crazy hard.  The actual boxing part wasn't so bad, but it was intermixed with some other exercises that were almost impossible.  I can't do lunges, my knees just don't work that way.  Plank to elbow plank and back again over and over as fast as you can - insane!  I could barely hold the plank for 2 minutes...  And you had to do it 6 times!   But you better be careful, because I will, someday, be good at these things (I hope!), and I am learning how to kick your butt!

Sunday Weigh-In

Today's Weight: 250
BMI: 42.9
Weekly Loss: -1.2 lbs
Total Lost: 23 lbs

I made some not so good food choices this week, I'm not gonna lie.  But boy did they taste good!  I am excited to get back on track this week with the addition of a new exercise endeavor.  I will post more about it tomorrow after I survive my first class.  :)

Vegetarian Deliciousness and Brotherly Love

Today I tried another pinterest recipe that took me back to my vegetarian days: Black Bean Burgers.  There were a few differences in my version.  I forgot to buy cilantro, so that wasn't in there.  I do not like coconut, so I used a small amount of breadcrumbs in place of the coconut flour.  I could not find cumin cheese, so I bought a lovely chipotle gouda instead.  Because the cheese was so spicy, I omitted the peppers in the burgers.  I had a coupon for my favorite Wholly Guacamole, so I picked that up instead of mashing my own avocado.  I also used dried beans instead of canned, and omitted the salt to cut down on my sodium intake.  These were delicious served on whole wheat sandwich thins, and super filling.  I will definitely be making these again. 

I have not done nearly enough showing off of my adorable boys lately.  Luke had his first try at the swing set earlier this week.  He loved the swing, and even better, Topher loved it.  He wanted to be the one to push his brother in the swing.  They were both so excited.

And isn't a sleeping baby just the cutest thing?

And here is Topher playing in the rain:

And last, but not least, Topher enjoying a peanut butter and banana sandwich:

He gets his table manners from his daddy....

Sunday Weigh-In

Today's weight: 248.8
BMI: 42.7
Weekly Loss: 3.2 lbs
Total Lost: 24.2 lbs

I'd say this was a pretty good week!  It is really nice to see a number below 250!

Luke's First Rice Cereal

Last night Luke tried rice cereal for the first time.  He didn't seem to like it too much, and kept spitting it out.  Here are some pictures from his first meal:

Topher decided he wanted a taste.

Luke was happy when I took the cereal away.

Today I tried making it a little thicker (yesterday it was REALLY liquidy), and he seemed to like it a bit more.  He only ate a few spoonfuls, though.  It is just interesting to me how different the boys are.  Topher took to the spoon and the cereal right away.  He ate the entire bowl the first time I made him any.  Luke just loves his bottle!  I love my sweet boys!

Sunday Weigh-In and Update

This is a day late.  Last night, just moments after I sat down at my computer to do the update, my internet went down.

Today's weight: 252
BMI: 43.3
Weekly Loss: 2.6 lbs
Total Lost: 21 lbs

This was a pretty good week considering I did absolutely no exercise at all whatsoever.  On Monday, my c-section incision started bleeding again.  After a lot of back and forth with my OB's office, I finally got in to see a surgeon who specializes in wound care on Friday.  I thought this meant scheduling surgery, but he decided to try cutting it open just a little bit in the office.  He pulled out some kind of small mass (I didn't want to look at it) and said that it was probably caused by a stitch that didn't dissolve.  He is giving it another week to heal up, and if it isn't making significant progress, then we will go the real surgery route.

My sweet boys both had check-ups and shots this morning.  Poor Luke was one unhappy little guy.  Topher did a great job, and was a big helper.  He also colored all over himself with a pen when I was trying to get Luke out of his clothes so they could weigh him.  You win some, you lose some.  Both boys looked great, and Luke has permission to start eating cereal.

Topher-
Height: 35 1/8 in
Weight: 29 lbs

Luke-
Height: 25 1/4 in
Weight: 13 lbs 11oz

Suday Weigh-In, Topher's Birthday, and Recipes

Today's Weight: 254.6
BMI: 43.7
Weekly Loss: -.8 lbs
Total Lost: 18.4 lbs

I was expecting to gain this week with all the festivities going on, so I'm actually happy with it being less than a pound.


So now it's time for the really long birthday update.  On Friday (Topher's actual birthday), we went to Toys R Us to use his birthday coupon, and he got to wear a crown and carry a balloon around the store.

He used his birthday money to get a toy broom, a bubble camera, and a little airplane fan (the propellers spin and light up).  Then we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch.  Topher enjoyed his nuggets, fries, and ice cream immensely.  We also ran into our friends Daniel, Courtney, and Hollis.  It was lots of fun!

Then we went home and Topher had his nap while Daddy worked and Mommy cleaned and went grocery shopping.  Grandpa Shackley came over for dinner, and we ate mini pizzas and skyped Auntie Steph and cousins Emi and Katie.  The kids had a great time talking to each other.  After dinner we opened presents, and Topher got some cool stuff including an animal train, some books, a pool floatie, and a thing that makes giant bubbles.  Here he is playing with one of his favorites, a car set from Uncle Andy and Aunt Kristin:

Then we had cake (this one came from Publix).  Topher loves cake!

On Saturday, we went to Topher's friend Gabriel's party in the morning.  Then the boys napped while Mommy and Daddy cleaned some more.  Then it was time for the big party.  We had a great time swimming at the pool with our friends!

Then it was back to the house for dinner and cake.  Here is my homemade truck cake in all its messy glory:

It may not be the prettiest cake, but it sure was tasty!  Topher got a ton of cool presents.  He was so excited about each one that he wanted to open and play with it right away instead of opening the next one.  Here he is amongst his new toys:

Uncle Grady got him a matching jersey:

Now Topher can cheer on the gamecocks in style!  He had such a fun time, and I'm so glad we have such great family and friends who could help make his day so special.


And now... I've been meaning to post a couple of recipes that I tried this week that were super yummy.  Unfortunately, I did not take photos, so you will just have to imagine the yumminess.  This first one is of my own invention to try to use some things we had on hand or were on sale this week:
Sweet & Spicy Turkey Chili
1 lb ground turkey, browned
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 carton of chicken broth
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 square unsweetened baking chocolate
minced garlic to taste
cumin to taste

Mix all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low 6-8 hours.  This has quite a kick to it, so you can adjust the amount of chipotle peppers to your liking.  So yummy!

The other recipe we had this week that was really awesome came from pinterest.  You can find it here: http://www.salad-in-a-jar.com/family-recipes/scooters-spaghetti
I used ground turkey instead of beef, and I substituted some Italian herb cooking creme (If you haven't tried these flavored cream cheese mixes for cooking, you should!  They have a ton of flavors that are all awesome!) for the regular cream cheese, omitting the milk since this is softer than a block of cream cheese.  This was awesome!  I had to start my meal out with a big salad to keep from over eating this stuff!

Topher is Two!

My sweet little boy turned two today!  How did he get from this...

To this...

... so fast?

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I used to spend my whole day cuddling that precious little baby, and now he is a big, independent, intelligent boy!  Watching him grow and accomplish new things has brought me so much joy, and I look forward to all the things he will continue to teach me as we go on this journey together.  But no matter what happens, he will always be that little baby in the first picture; I don't care how big he gets!

I have so much more to say, but I am exhausted.  I hope to have time to do a more detailed post of all the festivities tomorrow.

Sunday Weigh-In and Potty Round 1

Today's Weight: 253.8
BMI: 43.6
Weekly Loss: 3.4 lbs
Total Lost: 19.2 lbs

When I first weighed myself this morning, I got a higher number.  Just for kicks I got back on the scale and got this lovely number, which I liked much better.  I even checked it a couple of times to make sure it was accurate.  This puts me just below my weight when I got pregnant with Topher -- a weight I did not get down to between pregnancies, so this is a big milestone for me.  The only frustrating thing is that I still can't fit into any of my pre-Topher clothes.  I used to hear comments like "don't worry what the scale says, go by how your clothes fit" if you were sad about being stuck at a particular weight.  Now I seem to be having the opposite problem.  Every week the number on the scale gets lower and lower, but I still can't fit into smaller clothes despite losing almost 20 lbs.  It is really frustrating because I would like to see more of an improvement in my appearance.  I figure since I'm pretty close to a 20 lb loss, I would post some comparison pictures.

Other than my new haircut, I don't really see a difference...

So in other news, we thought Topher was ready to start potty training.  He always has to follow us to the bathroom, and was constantly begging to sit on the potty.  He had even peed in it once.  So I bought him some underwear, made a chart to put stickers on, got some toys for prizes, and gave it a whirl.  After 4 days of all accidents and no successes, I'm thinking that maybe he just isn't ready yet.  That's ok, but it sure was a long couple of days.  The poor little guy begged for his diaper.  If he wants it that bad, I guess he can have it.  I sure am tired of cleaning pee off the floor.

Sunday Weigh-In and 6th Anniversary

Today's Weight: 257.2
BMI: 44.1
Weekly Loss: 1.4 lbs
Total Lost: 15.8 lbs

6 years ago today I said "I do" to the only man who could put up with my craziness and love me for who I am.  They have been the best six years of my life!  Our official "date" was to go to a friends wedding the night before.  It is really a great way to affirm your own marriage vows when you witness someone else making that commitment for the first time.  It really brought some memories back.  It is truly a joy to watch two people commit themselves to each other and to commit their marriage to God.  I am so blessed to have a sweet friend like Heather, and I wish her and her new husband all the best in their lives together.
The reception was a blast.  The DJ was really good, and we had a great time dancing.  I definitely worked off my piece of wedding cake.

Today we woke up a little late since we were so tired from the night before.  I made Brandon breakfast, but it didn't turn out quite like I wanted.  I found this recipe on Pinterest: Brownie Batter Pancakes.  I should have known that low-cal, fat-free chocolate pancakes were too good to be true.  The pictures looked so amazingly delicious, though, that I just had to try it.  I was not horribly impressed.  Perhaps if I followed the bloggers substitution of some oil for the applesauce they might have tasted a bit better.  They weren't bad, just not the sinfully chocolate treat those pictures lead me to expect.  Brandon said that I could get the running shoes I've been wanting as my present, so I am super excited!  I can't wait for them to get here!

After church, we had lunch with my parents.  My mom made teriyaki chicken, which I love!  Topher got a chance to show off his crazy silliness to my parents, some of his favorite people.  He was very sweet to his brother (most of the time), and Luke loved his brother's attention.  He is all smiles whenever Topher talks to him -- it is the sweetest thing.

We couldn't afford our annual trip to the melting pot this year, so we did fondue at home.  I have to say that I make a pretty good fondue.  I wasn't president of the cheese club for nothing!  It was super good, and Brandon did all the annoying work of cutting up all the dippers.  We did the chocolate after the kids were in bed so that we could enjoy some whine-free time together.  It was a great evening, and I love spending time with my sweet family!

God has blessed me with a wonderful husband, and two beautiful children.  What more could a girl ask for?

A Happy Update

I promise no depressing post today!

I am so excited that my friend Ashley wants to be my walking buddy.  We went on a 1.5 mile walk this evening with the kids in strollers.  Unlike my jogging attempt, the time flew by.  The babies slept most of the time, and Topher had fun looking at all the cars and trucks we passed.  We walked even farther than I had before.  It really felt good.  Instead of being exhausted and sore, I felt really energized.  I think having the company was a huge help.  Thanks, Ashley, for motivating me to get out there and for going slow for me!

Luke is 3 months old now.  He has been sleeping through the night (mostly, he usually wakes up at 5:00).  In honor of this achievement, we decided it was time for him to try sleeping in his own room.  We have been keeping him up at least 30 minutes after his last bottle so that it will be ok for him to lie down flat.  He has been going to bed around the same time as Topher, if not just a little later.  He is doing really well in his room, and we have even gone without the swaddle the last two nights!  His swaddles are getting small for him, but we don't have any bigger ones since Topher hated being swaddled.  We decided we would give no swaddle a try before buying any more.  Here is a picture of my sweet boy in his crib (I just love this little guy!):

Sunday Weigh-In

Today's Weight: 258.6
BMI: 44.4
Weekly Loss: 2.6 lbs
Total Lost: 14.4 lbs

I'd say it was a pretty good week.

The Walk of Shame

I survived my first day at VBS today.  The baby room is definitely the place to be.  They are so cute!  Luke was such a good boy, and I think Topher had lots of fun too.  He can't tell me what he did, but every time I saw him he looked like he was having fun.  When we went to leave, it was pouring.  Topher was really excited and kept shouting out "nice water!"  I could hardly see to drive, so for Mommy it was pretty scary.  We made it home safe and sound, though, and we all had lunch and took a nap. 

Tonight I did my first workout in the Couch to 5K program.  I feel like such a complete failure.  I was tired by the time I finished the 5 minute warm-up walk.  I only did about half of the running.  I did at least manage to walk the entire time, although I was limping by the end.  This is supposed to be something that someone who does not exercise can do.  I could barely run the first 60 seconds!  I would be in serious trouble if I needed to run for my life.  I wanted to cry every time I came across another person (which happened a lot more than I liked).  I was so embarrassed, stumbling along and gasping for breath.  People tell me that I just use the arthritis in my knees as an excuse, but they REALLY hurt!  I also had a mild asthma attack.  I am going to keep trying for now, but maybe running really isn't for me.  I think I'm going to be stuck on week 1 of this thing for a while.  I just feel so ashamed that I have allowed my body to get into such incredibly bad shape.

Sunday Weigh-In and Crazy Long Update

Today's Weight: 261.2
BMI: 44.9
Weekly Loss: 1 lb
Total Lost: 11.2 lbs

I am really excited that I still lost a pound this week since I wasn't able to eat as well as I have been!

Luke is on Zantac now, and he seems to be doing better with the reflux.  He slept through the night for the first time Tuesday night, and has slept until somewhere between 5 and 7 every night since!  Go Luke!

My sister and nieces were in town this past week.  On Sunday we had a nice family dinner and the cousins had a chance to get reacquainted with each other.  On Monday, we took the kids to Monkey Joe's since it was raining.  Grandpa held Luke and watched the bigger kids play.  Topher had a blast, and his sweet cousins fought over who could go down the slide with him.  It was really nice to watch them get along so well.  Then, that evening, Steph and I went to Palmetto Paint & Pour with some of my awesome friends.  A good time was had by all.  Steph's painting turned out really good, mine not so much...

On Tuesday, we took Topher to the beach for the very first time.  He was absolutely in awe.  That boy loves water, and he had never seen so much of it in one place in his life.  He had so much fun playing in the waves, digging in the sand, and collecting various shells and rocks.  He even chased away some seagulls that stole my poor sister's sandwich.  We had a great time, and it couldn't have been a better day.

Wednesday I took Luke to the dermatologist to look at his weird skin pigmentation patch.  It turns out this thing could be a lot more serious than we thought, and pose some developmental problems.  For now we are just supposed to keep an eye on it, but I hope my sweet little boy will be ok.  We went straight from the doctor to the zoo, where we met my mom, sister, and nieces.  The kids all had fun climbing on the various animal statues and riding the carousel.  Topher was such a good boy, and walked with his hand on the stroller (at least most of the time).  He was especially excited to see the monkeys and the tiger.  He even got to feed the baby giraffe!

That night, Geoff, Steph, and I went to Mr. B's Goodtime Karaoke Explosion.  It was a crazy night, and that's about all I will say about that.
On Thursday we took all the kids to the pool.  Topher was a little clingy at first, but Auntie Stephie got him to be brave.  Luke cuddled with Grandma in the shade, and Mommy got a bad sunburn on her back.

Grandma invited us over for lunch, and we managed to get a nice picture of all the cousins together.

We said our farewells that night at Yummilicious.

Whew, that was a lot, and I'm not even sure if I said everything I meant to, but I am really tired and have to get up super early tomorrow, so off to bed I go!