Petits Fours and Produce

I invited my friend Kandice and her little boy Isaiah over for a playdate this morning.  I finally figured out that this "ayaya" Topher has been saying is Isaiah.  He loves his little friend.  They played very nicely today, sharing toys and chatting up a storm.  It was really great to have someone to keep Topher occupied while the mommies got to talk and snuggle the little babies.

Kandice loves petits fours, and I love to bake, and it has been a REALLY long time since I have baked anything thanks to my gestational diabetes, so I figured I would give them a try.  I've never made them before, so I thought it would be a nice challenge.  Last night I made an almond pound cake.  I absolutely LOVE almond cake.  It was a tiny bit on the dry side, but I thought the flavor was excellent.  This morning I trimmed and sliced the cake into roughly 1-inch pieces, and then made the fondant.  Making the fondant wasn't too hard thanks to my handy double boiler, but frosting those little boogers was another story.  Most of the instructions I read said that you could just put the cakes on a rack and pour the frosting over them, so that is what I tried to do.  I put some wax paper down to catch the drips, and spooned my lovely lavender fondant over the tiny cakes.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get the fondant to completely cover the sides.  They didn't look bad, just not the way I pictured them.  They had a bit more of the homemade appearance that I had hoped for, but they still tasted delicious.  Next time I will try dipping them to get a more even coating.

After my cakey mid-morning snack, a healthy smoothie was just what I needed for lunch.  Thanks to my trip to the local fruit and veggie stand, we have a ton of fresh produce in the house.  I figured I would try something different from my usual smoothies.  Into the blender went:
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 red grapefruit, peeled and seeded
1 small avocado, peeled
2 packets of Splenda
2 big handfuls of spinach

It turned out pretty good.  The avocado gives it a nice smooth, creamy texture, and I love grapefruit.  Warning: This is probably a bit on the bitter side for most people.  You may want to add more Splenda or another sweeter fruit into the mix.  I think it is just fine as is.  This drink is so refreshing for a hot day (just make sure your grapefruit and avocado are chilled).

Sunday Weigh-In

Today's Weight: 265.2
BMI: 45.5
Weekly Loss: 3 lbs
Total Lost: 7.8 lbs

This week I tried a new protein drink.  It's called Click, and you can find it here: CLICK Espresso Protein Drink.  It is made with real espresso, and it tastes like a delicious iced coffee from your favorite coffee place.  So far I have only tried the mocha flavor, but vanilla latte should be arriving later this week.  I don't want to be a product pusher, but this drink was so so so so good!  Other protein shakes I have tried were tolerable, but this is something I actually look forward to drinking.  And I don't have to make a separate cup of coffee!  Maybe dieting would have been easier if I had known about this stuff before!

On a side not, my sister will be here one week from today, and I am so excited!  Woo hoo!  I would love to celebrate her arrival with another good loss.

Setbacks and Successes

When I worked in the mall, I always thought mall-walkers were silly.  Now I have become one.  I had lofty plans of joining the gym, but the fact that my c-section incision started to open up and refuses to heal has left me with only one exercise option - walking.  The problem is, it is just too darn hot here to walk outside, especially with a little baby, and I am a little depressed with my meetings with the scale, so off to the mall I went.  Walking around the perimeter of the mall is a struggle.  I am surrounded by yummy smelling food that I can't eat, and beautiful clothes that I'm too fat to wear.  I try to think of it as motivation; one day I will be able to shop in those stores and buy those clothes I tell myself.  But deep down I fear that I will never get there, or that no matter what I weigh clothes will still look awful on me.  Why do I torture myself like this?

After my walk through temptation land, I let Topher play at the kids play area in the mall for a while.  He has been a little hesitant there after some bigger kid pushed him down one time.  I hope he will get his confidence back soon.  After about 5 minutes of clinging to my leg he finally went to go play, but he still ran back over to me every couple minutes.  I had a nice time watching him play with the other kids and chatting with another super nice mom.

Today I put on a pair of jeans that I bought after I had Topher because I could never fit back into my pre-pregnancy pants.  They felt huge.  They were literally falling off of me.  I decided to be brave and marched to the back of the closet where I had stashed my pre-Topher clothes.  I pulled out my former favorite pair of jeans and tried them on.  They fit!  Sort of.  They are a little snug, and give me a bit of a fat roll above the waistband.  But I can actually pull them all the way up, zip, AND button them.  Now if I can just make it through the day without any damage to my internal organs, I'll be good.

Sundey Weigh-In and My Big Boy

Today's Weight: 268.2
BMI: 46
Weekly Loss: 1 lb
Total Lost: 4.8 lbs

Topher has been trying to climb out of his crib, so on Friday we converted it to a toddler bed.  There was much screaming and crying and pounding on the door.  Poor little guy wore himself out and fell asleep on the floor.  Saturday we went to visit Brandon's family, and he fell asleep in the car on the way home, so he was put in his bed asleep, but we still found him on the floor in the morning.  At nap time today I decided to hook up Luke's video monitor in Topher's room so I could see what he did when we left him in there.  It was hilarious.  He laid there for a while sucking his thumb and kicking his feet.  Then he started playing with some of his stuffed animals.  Then he got up and pounded on the door and cried for a while.  He eventually went and laid down on the floor next to his bed.  At one point he even got back into bed, but he didn't stay there long.  He climbed back down to the floor and went to sleep on a pile of stuffed animals.  It is now 11pm and he is still in his bed.  Brandon said he fussed at one point, so he looked at the video monitor to see that one of his animals had fallen out of his bed.  He got up, put it back in the bed, and then got back in bed himself.  I hope he stays there and that we don't have anymore overnight crying. 

Here is my big boy in his bed:

And just for fun, here is my dream come true - all four of my babies in my lap at once:

Luke's 2 month update

My sweet baby turned 2 months old yesterday.  We went to the doctor for his check-up in the morning.  I had been concerned about his lack of interest in eating over the last few days.  He only weighs 10 lbs 11oz, which puts him in the 12th percentile for weight.  The pediatrician thinks he might have acid reflux.  I'm worried about him and I wish there was something I could do to make it better.  My mom bought him a rock and play for him to sleep in so that he can be on an incline instead of flat.  I really hope that helps, because he has been coughing/choking the last couple of nights.  I hope that he starts eating better soon.  The poor thing also got 3 shots.  Yesterday was not a good day for him.

Sunday Weigh-In, The 12th of Never, and Mother's Day

Today's Weight: 269.2
BMI: 46.2
Weekly Loss: -5 lbs
Total Lost: 3.8 lbs

So I definitely had some setbacks this week.  I made some bad food choices yesterday.  I also think I owe a big fat thank you to "the pill."  I also had my c-section incision open up a bit, so I am not allowed to to any exercise other than walking.  I'm trying not to get too down about things and just get back on track this week.

When I was growing up my dad would always say "on the 12th of never" whenever I asked for something that he didn't want me to have/do.  We'll do that on the 12th of never.  Well, yesterday the 12th of never finally rolled around.  May 12th was THE day to do things.  We had a garage sale in the morning, 2 birthday parties, a graduation party, and a neighborhood cookout to go to.  We were even invited a to a couple of other things that we just said no to.  The garage sale went pretty well.  It was nice to get rid of some of our clutter and make a little cash in the process.  Topher had a blast at the first party we went to at the zoo.  He loves the animals, and he got to ride the carousel.  Then we went to a party at the kid's play place at the Y.  Topher (and Daddy) and a lot of fun playing while Mommy cuddled Luke.  After that we were off to our friend Dan's graduation party.  A good time was had by all, and Topher got filthy!  On our way home we stopped by just to say hi to folks at our neighborhood cookout.  It was a really long day!  We were all exhausted.

Today was my 2nd mother's day as a mom, and I have two beautiful boys who mean the world to me.  This morning Topher kept saying that he needed me, and there is no better feeling in the world than that.  I awoke this morning to breakfast in bed.  Unfortunately, I had over-slept, but at least I had some yummy food and a nice hot cup of coffee to make me feel better.  After I ate, I got up and got ready for church.  There was even a travel cup of coffee ready for me to take in the car (although Topher tried to drink some and spilled a little, so we had to do a last-minute outfit change).  I had a sweet card from my boys, and I got a necklace with 3 hearts on it -- one for each of the 3 guys in my life.  Brandon also got me a corsage to wear to church, and I was really excited to show it off since the one I had last year got pinned to my PJ's while I moped around the house being sick.  We had a nice time at church even though we were really late.  I really enjoyed the sermon, and I am so blessed to be a mom, and I hope I can be a Godly example for my sweet boys.  Then we went and had lunch with my parents, but Topher was in a really bad mood, so we didn't get to stay very long.  We went home and had family nap time (since we were all still so tired from the day before).  We slept until dinner.  Brandon took us to Thai Wasabi, which was sooooo yummy.  Then we popped next door to Tutti Frutti fro some fro yo.  Topher loved it and even fed some to Daddy!  Now I am winding down while Brandon does the grocery shopping for me (perhaps the best present of all?).  I hope all the other moms out there had a wonderful mother's day!

Sunday Weigh-In and Priscilla Shirer Simulcast

Today's Weight: 264.2 lbs
BMI: 45.3
Weekly Loss: 2.4 lbs
Total Lost: 8.8 lbs

This weekend I attended the simulcast of Priscilla Shirer's Going Beyond event at Fellowship Bible Church.  I am so glad that I went even though I couldn't get anyone to go with me.  I read the note from Priscilla in the program while I was waiting for the event to start, and she said that she had been praying for those in attendance that weekend because she knew that God brought each and every person there for a reason.  That alone made me cry, and I'm not totally sure why, but there were many more tears as God really spoke directly to my hear.  I came to realize how the hurt I have been feeling in the last few weeks really prepared my heart for a big lesson that God has been trying to teach me.  God blessed me in so many ways this weekend, and I am thankful we have a God who takes care of us whether we realize it or not.

Mother Son Date Day

Brandon went straight from work to the USC baseball game, so I thought Topher would enjoy something fun since he wouldn't get to see his daddy all day.  In the morning we went to the zoo and hung out with some of Topher's old My Gym pals.  Sorry there are no pictures of this, I forgot the camera.  Topher loved the meerkats, monkies, and fish.  We got to see a diving demonstration in the aquarium, and Topher was excited to see the guy wave at him from the tank.
I took the kids to Chik-fil-a for dinner.  Luke was a good boy even though he didn't get any chicken.

Here is Topher stuffing his face.  He was such a mess!

Then Topher played in the play area.

It was a fun (but long) day!