I'm not a nerd.....

I'm a man(n).... (Haley & Dad will understand)

another one bites the dust...

another pound that is! I was hoping to lose a little bit more, I'm only .6 away from 20 pounds, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. (What does that mean exactly?) I think I probably wasn't as careful as I could've been on our scrappin' day Saturday, but I can learn from my mistakes & move forward. Sunday we're having a Super Bowl party, so I'm trying to make sure & have healthy snack choices available. I was hoping to make some fat free No Pudge brownies, but I'm having a hard time finding the mix. They're really good, and only 2 points per brownie! I'm going to do some more hunting; let's hope I'm able to find them.

Do you have any good low/no fat dessert recipes?

What's up Cuz...

My cousin Chris is in town on business, so he & a co-worker, Glenn, came by tonight for dinner. We had a great time catching up. Of course Jonathan was the star of the show; they were definitely getting a big kick out of him. Here's a picture of Jonathan & Chris. Ain't they cute!

It was great seeing you, Chris! Hopefully we can get together again the next time you're in town.

Pics at the park

The weather was pretty nice today, so we met up with some friends at the park for a playdate. It turned out to be a bit cooler than we were expecting, but it was still nice enough to be outside. It was good to get out and get some fresh air. I'm really looking forward to spring as Jonathan's getting old enough to play on the playgrounds. We went to Collins Hill Park where they have a great toddler playground. It was a great size for the kids. We also fed the ducks; there were so many of them. I was a little freaked out by how close they came, but Jonathan seemed to think it was pretty cool.



Well, I'm pretty tired so I'd better hit the sack. Until next time...

So much...

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted last. There's alot to post about, so I think I'll just do a summary:


* First of all, the best news in the world.... Chris' mom is in remission! Praise God!!! She had a PET Scan a couple of weeks ago and it came back clear. All three places are gone! They're going to do four more treatments (including the one she had last week), but then she'll be done. I can't even begin to tell you how happy & relieved we all are. God is amazing, that's for sure!


* As for my weight loss journey, it's still going well. I don't think I've posted my numbers in a couple of weeks; at my 1/16 weigh in I lost 1.8 pounds and last week I lost another 3.8!!! So, that makes my grand total so far 18.4 pounds lost! I'm very happy with the way things are going, now I just need to add exercise to my routine.


* Jonathan has been sick for a few days; poor thing. It began with a runny nose and then he started running a fever. Everytime he has a fever his sleeping gets all messed up. But last night he slept well & in his bed, so hopefully things are getting better.


* Speaking of his sleeping; I'm hoping to start this week working on getting him to go to sleep on his own. I started a terrible habit when he was a baby of rocking him/holding him until he went to sleep & then laying him down. It was just so wonderful to feel him in my arms. But, he's definitely at an age now where he should be able to go to sleep on his own. I've read a couple of books on the subject; "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Richard Ferber and "Good Night, Sleep Tight: The Sleep Lady's Gentle Guide to Helping Your Child Go to Sleep, Stay Asleep & Wake Up Happy" by Kim West and JoAnne Kenen, but I'm not sure which method to go with. Do any of you have any experience with either of these methods? Do you have any suggestions?


* Yesterday was a great day of scrapping with the girls! I hadn't seen Laurel or Rebecca since late October! That's just not right! We also met up with Sandy, Stephanie and Roxy. I always have so much fun scrapping with my friends. Next Saturday we're going to a Rubber Stamp Show, so that should be fun too.

Well, I think Jonathan is waking up from his nap, so I'd better get going. I'll try not to go so long between posts next time. ;o)

That was kind of hard...

In 9m 3s

Click here to Play

It's snowing!!!

Jonathan has never seen snow before, so we stepped outside & I snapped a couple of pictures. I wish it hadn't been so dark, but I think they turned out pretty good. It was so beautiful when I opened the door and the kids in the cul-de-sac were outside playing.



We don't get snow much here in Georgia, so they tend to make a pretty big deal out of it. In fact, as I'm sitting here, they're talking about it on the news like it's the biggest thing that's ever happened. I'm sure the grocery stores are out of milk & bread, that always happens when it snows. It's like people think the world is going to shut down. They're already talking about school closings, and it's only been snowing for a couple of hours. Craziness!!! I remember the first year we lived here, it snowed a 1/2 inch and we got out of school early! We had just moved from Missouri & were baffled by that.

I hope there's some snow on the ground tomorrow. It will be beautiful and I'd like to get some pictures of Jonathan playing in it...

Mini-album

For some reason I can't get these pictures to upload into Photobucket, so I'll just post them through Picasa. Picasa only lets you post 4 pics at a time, so there will be multiple posts. I made this little album for Chris' mom; and I'm making one for my mom too. They were supposed to be Christmas presents, but I didn't manage to get them done in time.



I was just watching Oprah and she was showing the people behind some of the products that are out there. One of the things that she showed were these Post-It Flag Highlighters. Aren't they cool! Now, when you highlight something, you can also mark the page with a flag so it's easier to find later. Sometimes it's the simplest things.

15 months

Today was Jonathan's 15 month check-up. He did really well, the NP was quite impressed that he didn't cry when she came close to do the exam. He weighed in at 23.3 pounds (50%) and is 31.25 inches (90%). So, he's a tall skinny little thing. I always have a hard time finding pants that aren't too big in the waist for him, so this was no surprise. Sadly he had to get 3 shots, and he was none too pleased about that. He did really well though, only cried for a little bit, then he was fine. He hadn't had a nap before his appointment, which was at 3:30, so he crashed on the way home. I laid him down a little before 4:30 & he slept until 7:00!!! I think his legs were hurting him from the shots as he didn't ever want to crouch down to pick things up off the floor. We gave him some Tylenol, so hopefully that will help.

I thought I'd do a little *update* on some of the things he's doing now. He's getting to be such a big boy.

He can say the following words: *daddy*, *no*, *uh-oh*, *thank you* (ta tu), *bye-bye*, *more*, *juice* (ju), *milk* (mia) - I think there might be another one or two, but I can't think of them right now.

He can identify his nose, belly button (which is too cute), and other people's eyes; I'm not sure I've seen him find his own eye when asked yet. He'll also *honk* noses too.

He drinks solely from sippy cups now and loves to drink juice and milk. He loves pretty much any food you put in front of him. I can't really think of a food he doesn't like. Occasionally he'll spit out green beans; but then again, that's how you know he's done eating, he starts spitting it out. Lovely, I know.

Well, that's about it for now. I was going to post pictures of the mini album I made for Chris' mom (don't worry, Mom, you're getting one too), but for some reason I was having issues with Photobucket. So, it will have to wait. Stay tuned...

date day

Yesterday Chris and I went on a much needed date day. We dropped Jonathan at his "grammie" & "grumpie"'s house around 11:00 and headed out. We didn't really know what we wanted to do, other than eat at Red Lobster for lunch. The only "date-like" things that we could come up with to do were going to the movies, bowling or miniature golf. There HAS to be more than that, right? Any suggestions for future date days? Anywho. Lunch was great, we hadn't eaten there in a long time and it was quite delicious. Afterwards we decided to go to the movies to see Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It was pretty good, but I was expecting it to be better. We knew going in that it was a musical, but there was a bit *too* much music in my opinion. Maybe it was just the kind of music. I really enjoy musicals; either movies or *broadway*, so I'm not sure what would have made it better.

After the movie we decided to just head home. I haven't been sleeping well lately & I was so tired! We had rented 28 Weeks Later, so we decided to watch that before we picked Jonathan up. I don't like to watch scary movies when he's around; I just don't like the thought of him hearing all those scary sounds & screams. Is that silly? It turned out to be pretty good and kept me on the edge of my seat.

When we picked Jonathan up Chris' dad was pulling him around on his Thomas the Train toy. Apparently anytime he stopped Jonathan would throw a fit. So, after several minutes of crying I took him into the bathroom & they hid the toy. When he likes something, he likes it, I tell ya.

Last night Chris said I should take something to help me sleep & he'd take care of Jonathan if he woke up. I wasn't going to let that opportunity slip me by. So I took NyQuil & was out by 10:00. I slept so good! Thanks, babe! I don't know what my deal is lately; but I'm back to whenever I try to go to sleep my mind goes into hyperdrive. It makes me crazy! And then, once I do fall asleep my mind still races so I never feel rested. Not good. Maybe last night re-set something & I'll get back to normal.

Well, speaking of sleep, I'd better get to bed. We have Jonathan's 15 month check-up tomorrow, so I'll be sure & post about that. Until next time...

one more down...

how ever many to go. I lost another pound this week! While part of me wishes it was coming off faster, the other part of me knows that it's better to come off slowly. I also know that if I added exercise to my routine that it would kick it up a notch too; I know once I start doing it I'll be so glad I did, getting started is the hard part though.

I also really need to be better focused on the weekends; that's probably one of my biggest challenges. When you're not in the routine of the work week it's easy to get off track.

So, I *obviously* still have changes to make... but I'm pretty proud of my 12.8 pounds lost so far!

I forgot...

to post about my weigh in last week. I lost another 2 pounds!!! I'm very pleased with my progress so far. I think it could be a little faster, but sometimes I struggle on the weekends. So, I'll take what I can get. I know that if I were to start exercising that would help the weight come off quicker too, but so far I've just been too lazy to get going. I have the Walk Away the Pounds dvd's, so I don't even have to leave the house, it's just a matter of getting started.

One of these days...

random pics & stuff

Here are a few pictures from today. The first is Jonathan getting "beautified" after his bath. Doesn't he look adorable all wrapped up in that towel!?

Earlier while he was playing in his playroom he starts whining, we go check out the situation and he's gotten into the wagon my parents got him for Christmas and can't get out. He wasn't in it too far because it's filled with blocks, but he was stuck.


We had a really nice weekend. Yesterday was a scrapping day for me, and I needed the time away. Rebecca & Laurel had both been quite sick during the week so they wisely decided to stay home and rest. So I spent the day scrapping with Stephanie & Sandy. R & L had met them a long time ago at Archiver's & they've become great scrapping buddies. I hadn't had a chance to spend too much time with them, but we had great fun yesterday. I was actually productive which is a good thing. I'm working on a gift for someone, so once it's finished & has been given to the recipient I'll be sure & post pictures.

Unfortunately we didn't go to church again today. I told Chris the other night that I'd like us to sit down separately and make a list of things that are important to us in a church & what level of priority they are. Then we can compare notes & kind of go from there. I'm really anxious for us to find somewhere that we can get settled & involved in. I don't like being in limbo like this.

Since we didn't go to church today we got up & did our grocery shopping *early*. By early I mean like 10:30, but since we usually go after lunch it was early. It was much less crowded at Wal-Mart at that time of day, so we may try doing that again in the future. (Hopefully after we go to church though!) After groceries we headed to our favorite restaurant, Nagoya Japanese Steakhouse. We go there every week & they know us now. For the past 4-5 weeks we'd had the same chef, but today we had a new one. He was good, but I missed our regular. After lunch Haley came over & we ran to Target while Chris went golfing with his dad. It was such a beautiful day outside it would've been wrong for them to not go. I love that Chris has found a *hobby* that he enjoys. (Would golf be considered a *hobby*?) Anyway, it's something he can go do & decompress. He works really hard & deserves to be able to relax as much as possible.

Well, I'm pretty tired, so I'd bette hit the sack. Until next time....

New Year

This time of year always inspires people to make changes in their lives; some small, some big. I've never really been one to make New Year's *resolutions* as it seems they are just forgotten before January is even over. I do want to make some changes this year, but I don't want to use the term *resolution*. I haven't quite found the word I want to use yet, but here are a few of the things I want to work on in the coming year:

1. Simplify - We've really been working over the past few weeks at purging unneccessary items from our house. I have a list for each room in the house of things I'd like to get done; most involve purging & organizing what's left. One of my favorite TV shows to watch is Mission: Orginization; I get so motivated to implement some of their techniques in our home.

2. Be Healthier - I've already began my weight loss journey and I just want to continue making better decisions. There are still some changes I'd like to make; drinking more water, begin exercising, and I still need to make better decisions on the food I eat. I screwed up *big time* last night and am just praying it doesn't affect my weigh in tomorrow too badly. Chris and I love to watch The Biggest Loser. I get so motivated watching the progress that the contestants make. I told Chris tonight that I wished I could watch it 24 hours/day because when it's on I feel like I can do anything.

3. Connect - I'd like to make more of an effort to spend one-on-one time with Chris; at least once a month. I always enjoy it when we go on a *date*; we're able to re-connect with each other as a couple and not just as parents. I remember before Jonathan was born how I'd hear about women who'd had a baby & put their husband second. I always said I'd never let that happen, but I'm concerned that I have. I was Chris' wife long before I was Jonathan's mom, and I'll be his wife long after our children have left home. I can't forget that.

4. Domestic *Duties* - I try to keep our house looking presentable as much as possible, however, I know I could do a better job. I'm home all day, but somehow I don't seem to manage to get everything done that I should/could. A few years ago I found a system called Flylady, and it worked really well. I've been working on implementing her system again, and plan to keep it up this time.

Well, another goal I should probably set for this new year is to get in bed earlier. Getting Jonathan down to a more reasonable bed time would help that tremendously. I need to put that on my list too. 'Night all.

Happy New Year!!!