Picture Time

Tracy got the crazy notion that we should all get our pictures taken for Father's Day. She was getting pics taken with her kids so we jumped in and did the whole gang. Really, considering what an absolute disaster it could have been, it turned out quite well. I'm pleased anyone and I LOVE the one of Parker and Jack. I haven't had their pictures taken together since Jack turned one. Because they were awful that time around. Maybe I can resume getting pictures taken now!

Water Park

Part boy, part monkey.

The boys and I went to Knight's Action Park yesterday (a waterpark) and had a blast. Each time it gets a little easier. They still don't want anything to do with the slides though. I think Parker was entertaining the idea, but couldn't quite get his nerve up. No problem. We spent a lot of time in the lazy river and the wave pool which I enjoy very much. I got cooked and they have some spots on their face that I missed with the sunscreen. Before we went, I had to get a new swimsuit and I actually tried on a bikini! It was a mom bikini (the kind with a little skirty bottom and a supportive top)! But, I didn't have the nerve to get it. Maybe by the end of the summer. Or maybe not. I need to incorporate some ab work into my routine before I'm bikini ready.

As always, Knight's Action Park is a blogger's dream come true. There is soooo much to comment on--good and bad. I will do that when I have more time.

We found out who Parker's teacher will be next year--Mrs. Reynolds. I had the pleasure of getting to know her a little bit this past year when her daughter as at our preschool. She spent the past year on maternity leave and is returning in the fall. When I last talked to her, she was super excited about getting back in the classroom and had tons of wonderful ideas. Her enthusiasm was contagious which made me excited about 1st grade. With that being said, Parker is not in the same classroom as most of his best friends. He knows this and doesn't seem the least bit concerned, so I guess I'm not either. We didn't request a teacher this year, but I tried to nudge the principal in this direction. She's quite perceptive I would have to say. I also trust her to do what she thinks is best for Parker while he is at McGaughey. I think she tries to do that for every child there. The bottom line is that Mrs. Reynolds has a loft in her room and in Parker's eyes, that trumps just about anything else any other teacher could possibly offer. My classroom had a loft in kindergarten and I have to say that it was the bomb. Sooooo much fun!

Weight Watchers last night--lost 1.8 lbs. for a total of 23.8. Sounds good to me. I'm hoping to hit that 25 pound mark next week which would leave those infamous final 10 pounds for me to lose. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..........

It's awfully quiet upstairs--better go check.

a little of this and that

Me and Jack at his program. (And the double chin that shows that I do, indeed, have more weight to lose.)
Jack and the absolutely adorable Bella at the program.
- I admit to being a terrible blogger lately.
- Parker started golf on Monday but was rained out Tuesday and Wedenesday. Thank goodness they got to go today or he might have started walking to the course. He really loves it.
- This weather is NUTS! I'm sick of thunderstorms, rain and tornado warnings.
- We filled our pool today. The boys are still satisfied with a blow-up pool. Maybe next year we will join the surf club.
- I've lost 22 pounds. I have between 13 and 18 to lose. I'm not really sure what my realistic maintainable weight will be. I have a "dream" number, but I'm not really sure it's possible. I haven't weighed that amount for 10 years.
- I really need to make a summer schedule and stick to it. The boys drive me nuts when they aren't structured.
- We got a Wii for Parker for having such an amazing year in school. I really want to brag about what Mrs. Fitzgerald said about him, but I will keep it close to my heart. (And in a scrapbook, of course!)
- The Wii is AWESOME! We all love it. And my arms are sore from boxing. That's a really good video game.
- We signed up for summer reading at the library, but I'm not sure it's possible for us to read 30 minutes a day in the summer. We kind of run and run and run until we drop. When their heads hit the pillow, they are out. LOVE IT! Maybe on rainy days we will catch up on the reading.
- I found "the" dress for my reunion. Actually, Tracy found it and I fell in love with it. So she drug her kids out and found one in my size and then stood their and signed up for a credit card to knock down the obnoxious, out-of-my-budget price for me. She's great, huh. I have said it before--she is a shopping superhero. Always able to find the cutest thing for the best price. I'm not going to tell you about the dress because God forbid someone else show up with something like it! Now for some shoes................
- I found a 3 ft. long snake skin in our backyard. I hope I don't meet it's owner. Yipes...it's growing!

More pictures

I think they are singing and dancing in this picture.

I will be glad when that new tooth is completely in so Parker can get rid of the "snaggletooth" look. Man he's cute though. Gotta have the eye-black or you're not a real ball player.

A rare picture of daddy and Jack smiling for the camera.

For some reason, Jack went around shaking all the potted ficus trees at the wedding. He also knocked over a pillar with a fern on it. No harm done though--nothing was broken.

Last Wednesday at WW I had lost 18.2 lbs. I'm hoping for the big 20 lb loss tonight, but I'm not sure it will happen. My scale says I've lost 21, but I never know how theirs will weigh. Regardless, I'm pretty darn proud. And you know what, I don't feel like I'm deprived at all. I still eat pretty much everything I want, just in much greater moderation. I definitely don't feel like I'm on a diet. I just feel like I'm making much better choices. I still have about 15 lbs. to go and I am STILL overweight by medical standards! I'm not kidding.

The past week......

Parker's baseball season has begun.

Jack had his preschool program and actually participated. I don't have any pictures from the program, but he sure looked pretty snazzy in his preppy little outfit.

The last day of school.

Fun Day at McGaughey. I loved all the bright colors.

Posing for pictures at a wedding we attended this weekend.

Another Jackism

Last night Jack had his End of the Year Program at school. He actually stood up there and even sang! It was a Foreman miracle--a child who willingly participated in a preschool program. Anyway, he had on some new dress shoes that don't have laces. They don't have Velcro either--just that type of pull on shoe. While we were in the car, he told Parker, "My shoes don't have tyers." Which sounds just like "my shoes don't have tires". Even Parker thought that was pretty darn cute.

Today is Parker's last day of kindergarten. I will post more about this emotional occasion later. Seriously, I'm a mess. Here's a pic from the first day of school 9 months ago. In appearance, he hasn't changed much. In maturity, he has grown leaps and bounds. As for what he learned this year--well, I think kindergarten is the new 3rd grade. It's crazy the things they studied! And best of all, he loved every minute of it!

Random thoughts

Some funny things Jack said and try to imagine it with his Boston accent:
- We were watching a Math DVD and they counted to ten. Jack said, "Hey! That's my two hand number!"
- We were driving by Big Creek Stables and there was a horse show. Jack said, "Hey! They're having a horse party!"
- We were driving by New Beginnings Church and Jack said, "They have horse parties there." (It does look rather like a barn--white walls with metal red roof.)

Tracy introduced Capri Sun Water to Stella and she held it out to her and said, "Here Stella. Try it." So now Stella calls juice pouches "try it." Example, "I want some try it."

I took some pictures of our crafty projects in Parker's classroom. I still love how that banner came out. So cute and so simple. Next time we will do it at the beginning of the year so it can be enjoyed all year.



This sign was another simple project but it turned out so colorful and cute.

Parker's class went to the zoo yesterday. It was cold and then rainy. They got to see all of the zoo but their picnic got canceled. I don't think they really cared at that point.




Today, Jack and I were sitting in the drive through at the barbeque place. I watched these two women walk into the restaurant and I had to laugh out loud. They were both tall and thin with very bleached out hair. Both were attractive but they were wearing the most ridiculous clothes. Like right off the runway type clothes. You know how runway shows are always way over the top? Designers don't intend for people to wear those clothes, they are just trying to be artistic. Anyway, maybe their attire would have been acceptable in New York or LA but definitely not in Mt. Zion. Especially not when going to dine at the barbeque place. It just struck me as very, very comical because you know they thought they were "all that" and really they just looked stupid. And no, I'm not jealous because even if I were taller and thinner and younger and blonder, I still wouldn't dress like Paris Hilton and go to eat barbeque. Also, barbeque is not a Weight Watcher food but it's worth working out twice today to enjoy it.
Since I didn't report about weigh-in Wednesday last week, I will now. I have lost 17 pounds. Whoo hoo. 19 more to go. This probably won't be a good week, but I'm not going to worry because next week will be better and it all evens out.

Jen and a dork

Here is my friend, Jen with a very dorky looking Matt Damon. She looks more like a movie star than he does, don't you think!?

They are filming a movie here in Decatur and several people have been able to meet Matt Damon. Too bad he isn't filming a movie where he actually looks good, huh? If you aren't from here, you are probably wondering why in the world they are filming here. The film is about a big price-fixing scandal that happened in the 80's at ADM. Matt Damon is playing the guy who exposed the whole thing and ultimately went to jail. I couldn't care less about Matt Damon, but I think it will be neat to see the movie (on video, of course) because we will recognize so many of the locations. Kinda neat.

Projects Galore

I made one of these little "teacher resource" boxes as a door prize for the luncheon we held for the teachers. These are for a teacher who admired the original one to give to her children's teachers. I actually got 3 order from that one door prize.


These bouquets are for a bridal shower. I brought my flower making factory (a bag with all my stuff)to a ball game last week and one of the mom's ordered these.

This is the scrapbook I made for Mrs. Fitzgerald. I had each of the kids write a note to her and some of the parents did too. She took the time to read each child's note aloud and made a kind comment about each one. Love that. They all felt very special--you could tell from their red cheeks!






Thanks to scrapbooks, boxes and paper flowers I have made enough $ to get my hair highlighted and go to weight watchers the rest of the summer. Now I need to earn enough more to get a great dress, a pedicure, fake nails and another hair highlight and then I will be set for the reunion! I have officially lost 15.6 pounds but it's actually more like 17 because I have busted my butt the past few days to reach my birthday goal--which I did. It is a wonderful, wonderful feeling BUT I still have 20pounds to go. I got out some clothes that had been in the back of my closet because they were too small for me to wear and guess what!? They are still too small to wear. This is a good thing because I don't want to get complacent. I still haven't really gone down a clothing size because I am just fitting comfortably into the clothes I was wearing which is very troubling because I don't know how in the world I was squishing myself into them! Why didn't someone tell me I looked like a stuffed sausage!?

A picture story

This handsome boy had his kindergarten program last night.

When they called for his group, he jumped right up and went without a word. Then he marched in with everyone--he was even first.

He wasn't exactly an enthusiastic performer. (No future Swingsation member here!)

But when it was his moment, he held that astronaut as high as he could!

And boogie-woogied when necessary.

All of which made us very proud which earned him a trip to Dairy Queen.

And even though he didn't perform, this adorable blondie got to get ice cream too.

It must be nice

I'm thinking that it must be nice to be the parent of a bully. That way your child would never come home crying because someone was mean to him. I never know how much to let your child handle on their own and when I should intervene. I hate this part of parenting!

Look really close at this picture. Parker has his tongue in the space of his missing tooth. So cute!
Some pictures from a nice, sunny day at the ball park. Parker completely neglected his batboy duties because the game was at McGaughey right next to the playground. When you are 6, a playground beats being batboy any day!
All of us are plagued with our annual spring eye allergies. I think it is this awful tree in our front yard that turns everything yellow with pollen this time of year. I would love to cut it down, but it's soooooo dang expensive!!!!! We spent $1800 to have a horrible tree in our backyard cut down and I don't plan on doing it again. This one could probably be a do-it-yourself job but it would take a lot of work.
Remember in the movie Pretty Woman when they first meet in the car and Richard Gere says something like, "People don't surprise me." and Julia Roberts responds with, "Really? People shock the hell out of me." I have found that to be very true lately.
Parker has a kindergarten concert tommorrow night. I'm just hoping it is without any drama from him. We never know what to expect in these situations. Jack's is in a few weeks but I don't hold out much hope for him. He still cries when I drop him off at school. He loves school, his friends and his teacher but there is something about the morning that makes him weepy. I have no tolerance for it so I just hand him off to someone and leave. And honestly, I don't give it another thought. I know he quits before I'm to the parking lot. I'm getting hard-hearted in my old age.

Today is weigh-in Wednesday. Last week I was at 12.2. I never know what to expect even though I weigh myself at home. I have a birthday goal which I am about a pound away from. I've got 3 days to get there and I think I can do it. My birthday falls on Mother's day this year which is a blessing and a curse. Luckily, I can take a WW break and eat whatever I please since it is a double holiday for me. Which probably means I will eat double my daily allowance of points! How about a Krispy Kreme doughnut cake!!!!!
This is teacher appreciation week and Angie and I have come up with all sorts of wonderful, crafty things to do for Mrs. Fitzgerald.
Monday--Illini Day She is a big Illini fan so we sent a note home asking all the kids to wear their orange and blue. I have her a note that said, "We have something special planned for you, On Monday, wear your orange and blue. Angie had a basketball garbage can and an Illinois mug personalized. She also got an orange and blue feather boa, a decorated paint can and pencil holder and I brought our Illini rug for her to borrow for the day. It was simple and so cute. It's fun when the kids can be a part of it too.
Tuesday--well, she was gone.
Wednesday--we made a banner (like a string of hanging triangle pennants) that had each child's handprint and name and said, "Mrs. Fitzgerald, You touch our hearts." It is so bright and colorful. I need a picture of it! They also wore badges that said, "Mrs. Fitzgerald touched my heart." We also painted an adorable sign that reads, "Mrs. Fitzgerald's Classroom" and had all the kids draw a picture of her which we compiled into a "Mrs. Fitzgerald Book." Oh, and we swiped her treat jar yesterday and I decorated it and we filled it with new candy. (The kids are so over tootsie rolls and smarties.)
We have a few more tricks up our sleeve. We are cracking ourselves up because we are in creative overdrive this week. Honestly, she is such a wonderful teacher that I am inspired to want to do special things for her. Corny. Maybe, but very true.
Lots to get done so I'd better go!

Great sports story!

You have to read this article about a softball game. THIS is what sportsmanship is all about. If this was my team who helped this girl, I couldn't be more proud if they were national champions. Wow. It's nice to read about something GOOD happening in sports for once. No steroids here, just really big hearts. Love it!

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon University uncorked her best swing and did something she had never done, in high school or college. Her first home run cleared the center-field fence.
But it appeared to be the shortest of dreams come true when she missed first base, started back to tag it and collapsed with a knee injury.
She crawled back to first but could do no more. The first-base coach said she would be called out if her teammates tried to help her. Or, the umpire said, a pinch runner could be called in, and the homer would count as a single.
Then, members of the Central Washington University softball team stunned spectators by carrying Tucholsky around the bases Saturday so the three-run homer would count - an act that contributed to their own elimination from the playoffs.
Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman, the career home run leader in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, asked the umpire if she and her teammates could help Tucholsky.
The umpire said there was no rule against it.
So Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace put their arms under Tucholsky's legs, and she put her arms over their shoulders. The three headed around the base paths, stopping to let Tucholsky touch each base with her good leg.
"The only thing I remember is that Mallory asked me which leg was the one that hurt," Tucholsky said. "I told her it was my right leg and she said, 'OK, we're going to drop you down gently and you need to touch it with your left leg,' and I said 'OK, thank you very much."'
"She said, 'You deserve it, you hit it over the fence,' and we all kind of just laughed."
"We started laughing when we touched second base," Holtman said. "I said, 'I wonder what this must look like to other people."'
"We didn't know that she was a senior or that this was her first home run," Wallace said Wednesday. "That makes the story more touching than it was. We just wanted to help her."
Holtman said she and Wallace weren't thinking about the playoff spot, and didn't consider the gesture something others wouldn't do.
As for Tucholsky, the 5-foot-2 right fielder was focused on her pain.
"I really didn't say too much. I was trying to breathe," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday.
"I didn't realize what was going on until I had time to sit down and let the pain relax a little bit," she said. "Then I realized the extent of what I actually did."
"I hope I would do the same for her in the same situation," Tucholsky added.
As the trio reached home plate, Tucholsky said, the entire Western Oregon team was in tears.
Central Washington coach Gary Frederick, a 14-year coaching veteran, called the act of sportsmanship "unbelievable."
For Western Oregon coach Pam Knox, the gesture resolved the dilemma Tucholsky's injury presented.
"She was going to kill me if we sub and take (the home run) away. But at the same time I was concerned for her. I didn't know what to do," Knox said.
Tucholsky's injury is a possible torn ligament that will sideline her for the rest of the season, and she plans to graduate in the spring with a degree in business. Her home run sent Western Oregon to a 4-2 victory, ending Central Washington's chances of winning the conference and advancing to the playoffs.
"In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much," Holtman said. "It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a home run."

hey batter, batter

Notice the little bat boy on the right. He wants to be a part of the team, but is still a little shy. In a few more weeks he will be right in the middle of the picture, I'm sure. The team got 2nd place in their tournament last weekend and are playing in another one this weekend in Mattoon. I managed to squeek in a trip to the scrapbook store and I got some really pretty paper. I have no idea how I will use it, but it was too pretty to resist!

I go on and on and on.........

The reason I haven't put pictures out here for a while is because I am frustrated with my camera which makes me not want to take pictures. That's bad. Even a bad quality picture is better than no picture.

The boys and I went to Pizza Hut tonight to use up some of Parker's free pizza coupons (read 6 books in a month and get a free personal pan pizza--easy peasy). A family walked in and the kids were just a mess. One of the little girls was about Parker's age and she had her shirt on backwards. One girl had on what looked like a men's shirt. There were 5 kids and they were with their grandparents. Anyway, I am somtimes a little lax where Jack's clothes and hair are concerned because I get sick of fighting with him. No more. Those kids looked like they found their clothes in the street and combed their hair with a rake. And they acted about as bad as they looked. (Don't leave me a nasty message--even if their family struggles with money, you can put your shirt on the right way and comb your hair.)

I have been hit with seasonal allergies. Itchy eyes, dry cough and constant sneezing. A lovely image I present.

Parker came home at noon on Tuesday with a fever. Stayed home Wednesday. I sent him back on Thursday and he came home with a fever at 11:30. Stayed home today. I think he is on the road to recovery now. Very strange little bug. The only nice part was that I got to spend a little extra time with one of my favorite people in the world! Even Jack took mercy on Parker and didn't aggravate him quite as much as usual.

Weigh in Wednesday wasn't so pleasant. My Krispy Kreme's cost me a pound. However, I was fully prepared for a gain and just thankful that it wasn't more. Luckily, that pound and a few more have dropped off and, according to my scale, I have now lost 11 pounds. I am 5 pounds away from my birthday goal which is in 3 weeks. I AM going to reach that goal! Unless Krispy Kreme get's in my way.


I am selling my cutie flowers now so if you, or anyone you know would be interested, just let me know. I will be selling them at a craft show next week which has me very nervous. It's kind of like being judged. Will anyone like them? Will anyone buy them? What if they do? Can I make enough? Am I charging enough? Too much? Will they fall apart when people get them home? Do I worry too much????? Anyway, they are $15.00 for a bouquet of 15 flowers. Teacher bouquets with pictures are $25.00 (because there are more flowers and I have to make a copy of the class picture to cut out their little heads.) I have to make many, many flowers this week so I have enough to put bouquets together quickly! My flowers will be with my friend Angie's booth at the Maroa Craft Fair next weekend. Angie and her friend Jody sell hair bows and various cutie stuff. Their hair bows are ADORABLE and very high quality so if you are in the market for that kind of thing, they are the people to see.

We went to East Peoria last weekend and we were lucky enough to be able to meet my friend Maureen, her baby Tommy and her husband Kurt for lunch. It was awesome to see her. That little Tommy is sooooo cute (and scared to death of me!) Jack screamed for a while then fell asleep in the booth which was probably a blessing. However, carrying him in and out was a pain. He weighs 40 pounds now and that is pretty darn heavy--especially when it's trying to kick you! Little brat. ;-)

More baseball tomorrow if it isn't raining. This tournament is in Mattoon which just happens to be the home of one of my favorite scrapbook stores--Daisy Lane. Can't wait. They also have a Wendy's! I LOVE Wendy's Spicy Chicken sandwich--and when I wipe off all the mayo, it isn't actually that terrible on WW points. They have a Sonic too and pretty much everything that I enjoy there is very bad on WW points--onion rings, milkshakes, freezes, etc.

Have a great weekend!

A parable

My friend Dawn sent this e-mail to me so I thought I would share. I want to be like Susie!

WET PANTS

Come with me to a third grade classroom..... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!'

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good...

Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.

A find!

Well, I wasn't disappointed at WW. I lost another 2.2 which brings me to 9.6 total. You would think that would be really noticeable, wouldn't you? It's not. Maybe on someone who was much lighter than me to begin with. On me, it's like emptying the ocean with a teaspoon. Don't get me wrong, though. I am THRILLED. This weekend will be a challenge because we are going to an overnight baseball tournament. It's hard to stay on track in situations like that. I am bringing lots of healthy alternatives for me though so I'm hoping I won't do too bad.

Parker and my dad had the thrill of a lifetime (well, if your life is only 6 1/2 years long anyway) last night. They went on a hike in the woods behind our house and found a deer skeleton! Minus the skull which my dad thinks was probably washed away by he massive amounts of rain we've received. They gathered up what they could and brought it home. Parker was so excited. It doesn't get much better than that for a little boy. They are back out hiking as I write in hopes of finding more treasure.

I was at TJ Maxx today and I picked up a cute purse. I was carrying it and then I saw that a woman who looked to about about 75 had picked it up too. I put the purse back. She might have been buying it for her grandaughter, but I couldn't take any chances. What does that say about my taste!? Maybe that lady just had really good taste. Although, the plastic rain cap she was wearing said otherwise. I'm just kidding.

Parker is allergic to his baseball cap. I guess it's better than being allergic to peanut butter or milk. We will make it work for him though. His forehead and nose broke out in a million little bumps when he wore it to practice the other day. Both of my kids are allergic to band-aids. The adhesive usually leaves a worse mark than whatever the band-aid was placed over in the first place.

I miss the cafeteria at ISU. All you had to do was walk in and have your choice of a wide variety of yummy food. And ice-cold milk to drink. Life was so much easier then. I've always thought that nothing really prepares you for the everyday, mundane, necessities and responsibilities of life. Paying a mortgage and car payments, insurance, medical bills, children, home maintenance costs, etc. don't seem like a big deal until you are in the middle of it. Add a couple of kids into the mix and it can be quite challenging. College is easy by comparison.

The explorers are back so I'm going to go see what they found today. Hopefully not another dead animal carcass.

Uh oh

Tomorrow is WW. I'm expecting disappointment. Not because I've been "bad" but if the scale at home is any indication (and it is) then, I'm either going to gain or have a minimal loss. Oh well. Keep moving forward.
Busy day--more later.

Rambling about Weight Watchers

Wednesday weigh-in at Weight Watchers was successful. I wasn't going to share details, but in the hopes of inspiring someone to try Weight Watchers I will. No way am I going to tell you my weight, but I have lost 7.4 pounds in 3 weeks. In the overall scheme of things, that isn't a whole lot but it is amazing how much difference it makes in your clothes. I haven't dropped a size or anything, but what I have is much more comfortable. And I don't have that gross squish coming out of the back of my bra and I've pretty much lost my muffin-top. When I'm standing anyway. When I'm sitting it is HUGE! I don't expect that I will always have good weeks, but I have to stay the course. Keep moving forward. Never give up. You know all the cliches. And it is hard. I hate that I can't eat some of the things I love--like Krispy Kreme doughnuts or brownies or Edy's Loaded Butterfinger ice cream. Actually, I could have them in small amounts but where is the joy in that? Whenever I am tempted, I ask myself if the 30 seconds of pleasure I am going to get from eating that piece of junk is worth it. Worth feeling fat. Worth feeling ugly. Worth being uncomfortable. Usually it isn't. Sometimes I give in to temptation just because I don't ever want to feel like I'm on a diet. This is something I need to do for the rest of my life so it has to really work for me and never again eating a piece of Cindy Beck's birthday cake would never work for me. Obviously I am no expert at Weight Watchers but these are few of things that have become apparent to me:
1. Write down everything you eat. It makes a HUGE difference when you see it in print.
2. Buy weight watchers products. Yes they are more expensive but they are so worth it. They taste good and they've already done the work for you. They are still way cheaper than a Value Meal at McDonald's.
3. Excercise.
4. Go to meetings even if you think the stuff they are talking about doesn't really apply to you and you get terribly annoyed at the ridiculous stuff people talk about.
5. There is no logic to how much weight you will lose in a week. I lost 3 pounds my first week which included our trip to Chicago (Rainforest Cafe, Burger King, Papa John's and IHOP) and Easter (where I sampled one of every kind of dessert and ate lots of sweet potatoes that are prepared with a bucket of sugar and butter) My second week, I lost 1.6 pounds and I religously followed the plan. I was very frustrated. This week, I lost 2.8. Hmmmmmm. I'm betting that next week will be low again.
6. You need something to motivate you. For me, it's my reunion. I would love to say it's because I want to be healthy, but that is just a fringe benefit. It also occured to me that to all the new people I have met in the past few years, I am an overweight person. They have never known me at an acceptable weight. And that is unacceptable.
7. Weight Watchers offers all sorts of solutions and tips but when it comes right down to it, will power is what it takes to be successful. Right now, I have it because I see those numbers dropping. However, I know it won't always be easy. Will power is HARD!
8. Oh yes, I have to admit that I am able to avoid many temptations because I am a stay-at-home mom. I am never anywhere where someone has brought in a box of doughnuts or some yummy dip to try. That would make this much harder.
And just so you know, I still have 29 pounds to lose to be where I think I could maintain. I would need to lose 36 more pounds to be where I was 10 years ago. Not going to happen! Unless I cut off a leg. Or sew my mouth shut.
Registration is FREE at Weight Watchers right now. I paid $20.00.

Dental success!

It is said that a blog post without a picture isn't much of a post, but I just don't have anything new to share lately. I get into these phases where I forget to use my camera. I will regret that later.

Parker's dental appt. was completely without drama. He did great and didn't have any cavaties. He also lost one of his front teeth yesterday at school. There is something about a gap-toothed kid that makes them look ornery. He was thrilled that he lost it at school.

It's Wednesday weigh-in at Weight Watchers. (Say that 5 times fast.) We shall see if I'm still a believer.

Gotta run some errands today. Jack makes that a much bigger deal than it should be.

I love kindergarten

I am oh so sad that kindergarten is almost over. It is such a fun grade. They learn so much and while they move at a rapid pace and do a lot of work, it is still a pretty relaxed atmosphere. I have heard that 1st grade is very different. They have to start preparing for ISAT's in 3rd grade so it's time to get down to business. School has changed so much since I was a kid. The whole world revolves around those ISAT's. They are taught how to perform on that one test. Weird, I think. Anyway, I'm feeling pretty melancholy as this school year comes to an end.

My dad gave Jack a hug yesterday and Jack said, "Your spikes hurt me." That would be my dad's beard.

We went to the Mt. Zion Foundation for Quality Education Fundraiser on Friday night. We always feel a little out of place because of the jaw-dropping amounts of money being donated. We paid $40.00 for something in the silent auction. That was probably by far and away the cheapest purchase of the evening. Travis had a 1 in 4 chance of winning a diamond. I said that if he won it, we would sell it and get new windows for our house. I was totally serious. Unfortunately, he didn't get it and the guy who did donated it right back to be auctioned off. We would have kept it.

Parker has a dentist appointment today which could be a battle. He is very unpredictable but if the past 2 visits are any indication, it could be ugly. I think he is way too old to be pulling this crap.

We have a wedding to attend over Memorial Day weekend. It is my personal opinion that scheduling your wedding on a major weekend sucks. I realize that it probably works better for some folks, but I'm not one of them.

I'm still a believer in Weight Watchers but I have to admit that the whole thing is a little tiresome sometimes. I get tired of thinking about everything I put in my mouth. However, it's hard to argue with results and I am seeing results--be they ever so small. Of course, when you are starting out where I am, it's going to be a while before it shows! At least I'm being proactive.

Nothing much here.....

I made a scrapbook page using some paper that I've been hanging on to for a few years. Perfect for these photos!
We are planning our 20th reunion and my friend Sherri ran into one of our classmates. This gal was holding an infant carrier and Sherri says, "Oh, did you have another baby?" Her reply, "Hell no. This is my grandbaby." YIPES! We are old enough to have grandchildren!? I guess I was aware of that, but to hear it is not comforting. Especially since my oldest child is 6. In no way, shape or form do I feel like I could be the parent of a 20 year old and have a grandchild. That's crazy. And yes, I got a late start. And I'm glad. Most of the time.