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.