Tales of the T's

Happy Birthday Big Sis!

2012-02-13T11:32:00.000-05:00

Today is my big sister's birthday.

Krista is the big 4-0 today, which sadly, is not a good thing, because I'm not that much younger than her.

Despite this major milestone, she will not be hitting the clubs or bar hopping with her girlfriends.

She'll be chilling with her favorite girl.

Krista, I couldn't give you any better gift than the one you rock to sleep.

(Which means you're getting nothing).

:op

Proof

2012-02-06T16:22:00.001-05:00

After three long years and a whole lot of money, I am no longer a graduate student

and officially a certified nurse midwife.

With the pictures to prove it.

Now to find a job before the student loans come due.

Happy New Year! (Again)

2012-01-23T22:12:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Year of the Dragon!

Heading out for our Chinese New Year's dinner

It takes a few tries with this group to get everyone to look at the camera.

The girls are wearing their authentic Chinese silk dresses purchased in Nanchang.

Mia ate her weight in noodles

While Tess went for 3 bowls of rice.

After completely stuffing ourselves full of Chinese food, we headed home to start our new New Year's diets.

Happy birthday to me!

2012-01-22T17:00:00.001-05:00

A day late, but whatever.

Made these. Loved them.

Even the next morning, cold, out of the fridge, with no icing.

Awesome

pineapple-bliss-cupcakes

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-01T00:11:00.000-05:00

Christmas with the Fam

2012-01-01T00:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas morn

2011-12-31T02:59:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the madness!

The Night Before Christmas

2011-12-31T02:13:00.000-05:00

Twas the night before Christmas

When all through the house

A strange pan started popping

It was louder than a mouse.

As it popped louder and louder

Little ones who couldn't take the heat

Ran from the kitchen

Until it was time to eat.

Later with the children all snug in their boxes

Ma and Pa tried to outsmart the foxes....

Wait, what?

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Trying to slow things down today.....

Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season.

The Penguin PJ pic

2011-12-24T22:29:00.000-05:00

After several attempts, there might be a couple decent ones.

Check out the antics of the ornery blond boy on the left.

Hope you all have a happy holiday.

Happy birthday Tater Tot!

2011-12-23T17:30:00.001-05:00

Today my oldest girl became a 9 yr old. Not that she hasn't been acting way older than 8 for months now but today it's official. She was too impatient to wait for her actual day once gifts arrived in the mail from Grandpa, so we celebrated early with presents and an Oreo ice cream cake.

Gifts for hair and makeup, what every too big for her britches 9 yr old girl needs.

That Cousin Thang

2011-12-19T12:00:00.000-05:00

Mia has blended right into the cousin mix quite nicely.

Teagan and her are like old buds.

What sup dude?

Give me a fist bump, sort of.

Hey, I'm ticklish, man.

Don't muss the hair. I worked on it all morning.

No more pictures, seriously.

Welcome to the madness

2011-12-18T23:13:00.001-05:00

that is the annual cookie bake.

Didn't actually take any pics of the process this year.

Adding a new little person to the mix meant that Aunt Krista was basically one on one with the little peep while I rotated around the table and kept the pans going into the oven.

Letting young folks roll out their own cookie dough is a bit tedious and requires some hands on assistance.

Hence, the lack of pictures.

We also got a late start due to some cranky girls in the family so it was a bit of a rush.

But my older peeps managed to finish all the cookies after everyone went home.

I'll let you guess which ones are their masterpieces. I don't want to take all the credit.

A change up in scheduling because of bedtimes and school tomorrow meant no Polar Express this year.

Not sure that anybody but the grown ups really cared.

We also took the annual penguin pic this afternoon too, but with 25 takes, a little creative editing is in order.

Skipped right through Fall

2011-12-18T02:12:00.000-05:00

Since it is a week before Christmas and all, I thought maybe I should get around to posting these Fall pics before I throw out some Christmasy ones. So here it is. Our early Fall trip to Brumbaugh fruit farm with 7 kids and 2 adults. Ahhh.

(On a side note, as if Christmas wasn't enough to celebrate, as of 12-12-11 I am officially a graduate!)

And good night.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T10:57:00.001-05:00

Slogger

2011-11-21T21:03:00.001-05:00

So, apparently it's almost Thanksgiving and I am continuing the slacker blogger tradition. I'd like to say it's because I've been really busy, but you could look around my house and call me a liar.

So I'm going to be honest here. I finished school, essentially, and have just been lazy since. I finished my clinicals November 7th and had all my assignments turned within a week of that. I studied a little for my practice exam and took it today. Passed the first time, with a nervous knot in my stomach and a headache creeping on. It's not like it's a pass/fail thing, but it was timed, which always makes me nervous. Plus I want to be done so if I failed it, I would have to study more and take it again. At this point, I'm hoping the school gets everything together so I can get my name sent in Dec. 1 for my comprehensive exam. I plan to chill for the rest of this week then hit the books hard to be ready for that test. It is pass/fail which is just way too much pressure if you ask me.

Let's see, what else has been going on? My scale has declared mutiny. At least I hope so and that I'm not really gaining a pound a day. I've opted to ignore the mutinous bastard for the rest of this week.

I found white hair........ on my head! And not just one, but seven! At least that's when I stopped counting since I finally recognized if I kept looking there would be more.

The fam is coming over for Thanksgiving which I suppose means I have to clean my house. Damn.

I've decided we need to implement some changes around the home front. My chicklets are turning into ungrateful little heathens. Perhaps this week of thanksgiving is the time to teach thankfulness.

Some reflection on needed changes coming soon........

October?

2011-11-01T11:43:00.000-04:00

Where did it go? I'm pretty sure there was one but we just skipped right over it.

Or rather, I was too busy to post about it.

Pee Wee cheerleading ended with a cheer competition last weekend.

I am finishing up my clinicals. Have caught 40 babies so far and need less than 40 hrs to be done.

Which unfortunately means I'll have to start studying soon for my biggest test ever.

We did go to a Fall farm festival a couple weeks ago and helped celebrate cousin Braeden's 6th birthday at Magic Castle, which I would never recommend unless you have a saint's worth of patience or maybe some Xan*x.

I think there are pictures somewhere.

All the little cousins went trick or treating last night, and as you can tell from these pics, getting 5 kids to look at the camera at once is not easy.

I think Mia might have been looking in the first pic but you can't tell since her beak is in her face.

Penguin Mia, Princess Tess, Iron Man Teagan (sans mask), Vampirina Tatum and Darth Braeden

We didn't have alot of luck around our house last year so we went to a smaller local neighborhood where the houses are closer together and were more likely to participate.

Plus, I liked checking out the beautiful houses. Makes me almost want to move there except for what would I do with my chickens, and how could I afford the taxes? Anyway......

The boys discussing next year's costumes. Apparently they think Ghostbusters would be pretty cool.

The big boys stayed near home and went out with their buddies. Tanner did his own makeup while Travis basically threw a bandana over his face and called that a costume, hence, the lack of a picture.

Now to keep them from having candy for breakfast every day.....

Slow

2011-09-15T13:22:00.002-04:00

That's how my brain has been moving lately. Slow. I've been blog slacking again, although I discovered today that I'm near my max storage for pics anyway. Who knew? I could blame my slackyness (yep, it's a word) on being busy with school or work or clincicals or house cleaning, hahaha, okay, maybe not that last one, but really it's just that I lack the motivation.

I haven't really been that busy with school or work or clinicals lately. I didn't have any didactic classes this quarter so had no major assignments to keep me busy. I quit my job a few weeks ago in anticipation of starting clinicals where I work, so haven't been busy there. And while I have been going to the office for clinicals, my hospital contract has been sitting at school for 3 weeks waiting for approval from the demi Gods, or some other phantom type people who eventually get around to reviewing contracts, so not too busy with clinicals either.

Mentally, I guess I'm just in a funk. Not knowing what is the appropraite reaction to not getting your way. Frustration, sadness, optimism, depression. Past the frustration stage and leaning towards depression.

Add in the projects around my house that I really want to do but just don't feel like doing, the garden that is a complete disappointment, the flowerbeds that sorely need my attention, the utter confusion about what to do with a 14 yr old who doesn't write down assignments or bring textbooks home............

Emotionally overwhelmed and falling off my Super Woman pedestal.

So with that, I will leave you with pics from G-burg, the trip we took a lifetime ago, you know, like July.

Baby Bash 2011

2011-08-29T11:10:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the third annual Baby Bash.

Started a few years ago when this motley crew came into the world.

Tess, Logan, Reagan, and Madelyn 2009

The Originals
Logan, Reagan, Tess, and Madelyn

There have been a few additions since then.

Gracie

Carter

Kenley

Owen

Mia

It was a perfect day for a cookout.
We ate.....

Gracie 2011

Big Sis Maddy in 2010.
Those Smith girls like their cupcakes.

Some of us thought toes were better than cupcakes.

We played

We laughed

We chit chatted

Whoa buddy, that's not chit chat.

Missed the money shot but trust me, he kissed the girl.

Logan, the true lady's man.

There were some big kids, but they have a tendency to avoid the adults during these kinds of things.

And lest you think that getting four 3 and almost 3 yr olds together for a pic is easy....

Almost got em all.....

Nope, maybe not.

There were about 5 other shots of intolerant kids too but you get the point.

And don't let Logan fool you. He knew there was a cupcake waiting for him if he stood still for the picture.

Dogfight

2011-08-27T01:33:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was our first Pee Wee game, the Greyhounds versus the Bulldogs.

Now do you get the title?

The alternate title was "A Sea of Red". Get it?

We didn't really go to watch the game though. We went to see this girl in action.

I think she had fun, even though she was a sweaty mess.

The team didn't do too bad either.

We got a TD in the first few minutes, then were tied up until the last 2 minutes of the game. Darnit.

Isn't it funny how you think you're not really into football

until you find yourself yelling from the stands during a Pee Wee game?

Anyway, off to Monroe today. Home game schedule to follow.

I missed it

2011-08-19T18:44:00.000-04:00

Last week my blog celebrated 5 years, with very little pomp and circumstance. I guess since I actually didn't notice, we'll have to celebrate with a party!! Or at least some party pics.

Prepare to be bombarded.

Tess's 3rd birthday was August 10th.

We celebrated at the park

in an outfit made by Grandma

with cupcakes from Gigi's

Chocolate salted caramel anyone?

Tess was a bit shy for her shining moment

But she did manage to blow out the candle with a little help from big sis.

Cousin Mia came out to celebrate with us!

A few other friends came out to enjoy the fun too.

Kenley and Logan

And Owen and Missy

He was super excited, can't you tell? Until we told him he couldn't have a cupcake. :op

And then came the presents

A bit of a Dora obsession

After the wrapping paper was cleaned up and the cupcakes stuffed into our bellies,

we headed into the Tippecanoe Aquatic Center for some awesome fun.

There was something for everyone.

Even cousin Braeden came out to play. These two were like fish though.

We rarely saw them out of the water which made it difficult to snap pics.

Everybody had a great time welcoming Tess into her fourth year.

First day

2011-08-19T00:46:00.000-04:00

Wednesday was the first day of school around here.

It was a little early for some peeps.

The big boys bus was here before light, which was way too early for me.

Off to first and third grade.....

another school year begins.

My Sweet Caroline

2011-08-10T06:25:00.003-04:00

Dearest Tess, my sweet little angel faced girl, today you are a 3 yr old.

While I sometimes wondered after your big brother was born if another would follow him, I can't imagine not knowing you. You have brought so much joy into our lives. You are my sunshine, my moon, and my stars.

I love everything about you.

I love your big blue eyes, your little blond ringlets, and your scrunchy face grin.

I love when you laugh, when you giggle, when you shriek.

I love the way you are the only one to call me Mama.

I love listening to your sweet toddler voice.

I love that you love your brothers and sister, even though they are sometimes mean to you.

I love that you are a girly girl and can't go a day without dressing up.

I love that you love piggy tails.

I love that you don't think twice about getting dirty.

I love how you hide your face when you know you're up to something and you see me watching.

I love how you play hide and seek but tell me where you are.

I love when you ask to go wimming in your baby suit, and even though I think you're too big for it now, it's still adorable when you say "I wanna bobble, peeeease."

I love that I told you you're a big girl now and you don't need a bobble and you went right to bed.

I love that you waited until the day before your third birthday to start climbing out of your crib.

I love that you think I'm a docker who catches babies even though that's not quite right.

I love how you pucker up for "lips" even though I caught you putting lipgloss on a dinosaur one day.

I love how you grab my face in your hands to give kisses.

I love snuggling next to your squishy little toddler body even though I end up on the edge of the bed and your hair gets in my face.

I love how you can't resist water no matter if it's a pool, shower, bath, or hose.

I love that you are not a picky eater.

I love that you love brocki and you know to spit cherry pits.

I love that you can wrap anything in a dishtowel and call it a baby.

I loved you the minute I knew you were there.

I loved you more when you swam into my arms.

I love you each and every day that I know you.

I love you when I'm away from you and when I come home to your smiles and hugs.

I love that you know that I love you.

I love that your mine, Tess Caroline.

17 years

2011-08-07T13:35:00.001-04:00

Seventeen years ago today I married my hunky Texan. Little did we know what changes were in store for us. With several moves, job changes, college, and five kids mixed in the mess, we have had our ups and downs and somehow have made it through.

Celebrating 10 years

I'm not sure that anyone else could have tolerated me this long. But then, I can say the same for you, babe. My life would not be the same without you.

So, if I'm addicted to loving you and your addicted to my love too
We can be them two birds of a feather that flock together.............

I love you from your toes to your face.

Happy anniversary, babe.

Camping in July

2011-07-31T00:06:00.000-04:00

Where did July go?

It's hard to believe school starts in just 18 days.

I guess it's because I've been busy with school and work that makes it seem like the summer just flew by.

We did make a little time for fun though.

We took a trip to one of our favorite campgrounds just after the 4th of July.

We cooked out.

Rode bikes.

Hit the playground.

Took some swim breaks.

Jumped in the lake.

And of course, made time for smores.

Independence day - T's style

2011-07-10T18:33:00.000-04:00

Start with some cute kids

Add in some laughter

A whole lot of water

Some firecracker apparel

Some firecracker "pockles"

And some real live firecrackers

Plus one crazy, er, brave guy.

Don't forget the sparklers.

And you have one great 4th of July!

Toddler photoshoot

2011-06-25T00:37:00.000-04:00

I came home from clinicals the other day to find this beautiful girl.

I thought she was too cute to not take pictures.

She didn't agree.

My beautiful girl

First camping trip

2011-06-20T01:20:00.000-04:00

I had to go to Ann Arbor last week for a case day for school so we decided to make a weekend of it and took the family out for the first camping trip of the summer.

It was a tiny little campground that only had a playground and swimming pond

but that was all the kids needed.

While the little kids played, Tanner kept busy entertaining the locals.

And by locals, I mean a yellow bikini clad girl and her sister.

Even the mutt came along for some fun.

Tess wandering back to the pond despite it being time for dinner.

Then voicing her disdain at having to come back by jumping up and down.

Followed by the obligatory melt down.

Solved, of course, by feeding her dinner.

My non picky girl had chicken, strawberries, and pasta salad.

Pasta salad, pasta salad, pasta salad.

I know, you can't hear the melody, but you can apparently put anything in a song.

Tate got a little sun.

As did Teagan and the other boys. I swear they were there, and we fed them.

They just tend to avoid the camera.

It was a nice little mini getaway. Wishing we could do another sooner rather than later.

Home

2011-06-05T13:45:00.002-04:00

At last.

And this is how I feel.

Heading out

2011-05-18T09:00:00.001-04:00

If you're reading this, I am on a jet plane somewhere that's not here.

I'll give you a hint, or two.

I'm headed off with my sis, Krista to bring home this adorable girl.

Chubby cheeks and all.

You can follow our journey here.

She strikes again

2011-05-17T12:00:00.001-04:00

Tesser the Messer is back

She has no shame

Naptime

2011-05-16T22:49:00.001-04:00

A thing of the past? Not for this littlest T.

Who of course, refused to take a nap in her bed 20 minutes before this.

But fell right to sleep on this textbook. Someone should get some use out of it, I guess.

Lord knows Tanner doesn't use it. :op

Finally

2011-05-10T00:39:00.000-04:00

No, not finally a blog post, although I guess there is that.

After the massive amounts of rain threatened to end it before it even started, baseball season is finally here.

Tatum is playing coach pitch softball.

Teagan is playing tee ball.

Travis is playing baseball.

Welcome to one chaotic season.

Out of touch

2011-04-17T16:16:00.000-04:00

Don't try to reach me this week.

I'll be hanging out in the Bluegrass State.

Crazy week

2011-04-07T18:20:00.000-04:00

It's been one crazy week and it's only Thursday. Got to experience my first mammogram this morning. I can honestly say, putting my boob in a vise grip was not the highlight of the week.

Started the week in Cancun, with this view out of my bedroom window.

Partook of a few of these

Dressed up for dinner at a beachfront Italian place

Walked along the beach

Snorkeled in this piece of paradise

On a perfectly perfect day

Floated down a lazy river

Braved the Mexican bus system to visit a downtown market

Napped in a hammock

Sipped some fresh strawberry margaritas

Laughed out loud at Wendy's Coco Loco coconut head drink

Had a great time with my girlfriends

Watched a Mexican show

Hung out in the club zone

And said goodbye to this view....

To come home and see this adorable face!

Mia Renee Ying will be coming home from China soon!

Leaving.... on a jet plane

2011-04-02T09:26:00.001-04:00

Crazy week

2011-04-02T02:13:00.000-04:00

This week has been full of ups and downs.....

Failed my Advanced Postpartum/Newborn Final - apparently, I really need to use a mouse. The touch pad on my lap top is very sensitive and after reviewing the test with my instructor, I discovered there were several answers that were totally not what I know I clicked. Darnit.
Passed my Advanced Postpartum/Newborn class. So there, stupid final.
And got an A on the dreaded paper. Woot, woot!
Heading to Clinical Bound in 12 days (basically an intense training week to get ready for clinicals).
Totally not prepared. Lots and lots of reading to do.
Missing my grandma, hard.
But, got to spend time with family from out of town.
Started Medifast a few weeks ago to jumpstart my weight loss before going to Cancun.
Lost 5 pounds! Finally back down to 165!
Uh, but started my Mexican fiesta a little earlier by going out with the girls for the Latin America menu at Melting Pot, then to Cazadore's with the fam the very next night. Yum, yum, yummy pina coladas!
Not stepping back on the scale for a week.
Going to Cancun in the morning!!!
And finally going to see little Miss Mia's face within the next week!

The party

2011-03-31T01:50:00.000-04:00

Celebrated Teag's birthday on Monday with the fam.

Waterpark fun

2011-03-30T04:00:00.001-04:00

This one has been asking to go to Coco Key for his birthday for like, ever.

So on Sunday, that's what we did.

It took Tess a little while to get used to the water, and while she never did decide she liked that huge dumping bucket, she did enjoy the water jets that came up in the pool.

The big boys pretty much disappeared to the big slides, although I did forbid Tanner to crack a smile, laugh, or have fun in any way, because aw man, he really didn't want to go.

Travis

And Tanner

I think, oh wait, there he is.

After several hours and an almost $40 lunch, we headed home. Cold and tired but having had much fun.

Teagan is 6

2011-03-29T06:00:00.001-04:00

My baby boy is a 6 yr old today.

Just 6 short years ago he came barreling out into the bathtub and he hasn't slowed down since.

Despite the fact that you can be moody and withdrawn like your mother, and despite the fact that you pick at your older siblings until they want to kick your butt, you are still and will always be, my sweet baby boy.

Happy Birthday Teag Man!

A lot

2011-03-28T01:09:00.001-04:00

That's what has been on my mind lately. A lot. No time to blog just because I can't seem to put my thoughts down. This is my apology. I hope to do better.

Anyway, rumor has it that we're expecting again.

Not one of these.

Some of this.

Geesh, people. Cut me a break.

I start thinking it's spring and someone always says "you know, it's supposed to snow".

Haven't seen it yet, so let's hope they are wrong.

My brain has been on overdrive lately, but it will have a forced slow down this week. We will say goodbye to my grandma on Friday. This is her and Tess at her 100th birthday party. We would have celebrated 102 birthdays in June. Wow. Just to say that out loud..... 102. How many people can say that?

I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing. I am sad, of course, but for a couple different reasons. While my logical mind knew she wouldn't live forever, I guess my heart thought she would. So despite knowing that this was inevitable, I just never really expected it to come. I'm also sad because I don't think I've seen her since that party. I just always assumed she would be there, like I remembered her. Not the way she had been for the last several years. The Alzheimers took so much from her. She had a hard enough time remembering her own five children, let alone the multitudes of grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great, great grandchildren. I feel guilty that I didn't go to see her in the nursing home, justifying it by saying I was so busy with my own family, but really not wanting to face that she wasn't the grandma I remembered from my childhood, that she didn't even recognize me. I have such great memories of her from when I was young that I didn't want these new memories clouding that. Does that make sense?

It is because of her that I have my own big family. I always saw her as the strong matriarch of this wonderfully large family, and I wanted that too. To grow old surrounded by my children and grand children, little cousins laughing and playing together at my feet. I think that's what would make me happiest, and I like to think, it did her too.

Unimaginable

2011-03-14T12:21:00.000-04:00

Unless you live under a rock, you've heard about the 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan. After viewing pictures of the devastation, I can't help but think, what in my mundane life could be that important right now to even bother mentioning here?

AP photo

AP Photo

AP photo

People have lost family, friends, homes.......everything. I cannot even fathom the loss of everything dear to me. There are thousands dead and thousands more missing. There isn't adequate food or water. No electricity. And the fear of a nuclear meltdown. The devastation is just unbelievable.

If you choose to donate, please donate to a reliable organization so the relief actually goes where it is supposed to go.

You can donate here to the American Red Cross. Click the donate funds button.

Or here for Global Giving.

Who knows how long it will take the Japanese to recover? And how will this affect the rest of the world? Questions that will have many answers depending on who you ask.

Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light. ~Norman B. Rice

Hope

AP photo

#2 is 11

2011-02-26T17:08:00.000-05:00

Travis is 11 today. Or rather will be at 11:15 tonight if you want to be all official like. This one snuck up on me. No, not really. How could it with "my birthday is in 2 weeks, 6 days, 4 days, 2 days, tomorrow...."? Know what I mean? The boy has been asking for a Lego train for like, ever. And every day since then.
Teagan told me a little while ago "If Travis gets a Lego train for his birthday, I will be so proud. Because he will help me do Lego crashes." Yes, apparently there is a whole Lego crash movement out there on You*Tube. And my 5 yr old said he would be proud. That was the funniest part of that sentence.

We will be officially celebrating tomorrow since I will be headed to work shortly. Or maybe not. I guess I'll be on call. So I can keep my cooties at home.

Conversations that may never be repeated

2011-02-24T21:17:00.000-05:00

The littlest T has caught the germs that have been floating around the house for the last week. Despite falling asleep twice on the couch today, about 8:40 tonight she says.....
T: Mama?
M: What?
T: I tired.
M: You're tired?
T: Yes. I wanna go bed.
M: You want to go to bed?
T: Yes. Where's Dora blankie?
M: Your Dora blankie is in your room. You want to tell Daddy nigh night?
T: No.

Then we walked to the stairs, she said "Hands", so I took her hand and we walked up the stairs.
Her latest thing is to sleep with every blanket in her room, so after throwing "Dora blankie", and "balloon blankie" into the bed, we had to throw in "bear blankie" too. I put her into bed, bundled her under her blankies, she curled up on her pillow and said "Guh night, Mama." And that was that.

It is these memories I savor. Sometimes they are almost too sweet for words.

Hits and misses from the weekend

2011-02-24T01:20:00.000-05:00

Hit: Got to spend time with this chubby cheeked fella.

Who am I, you ask?

I'll give you a hint......it starts with an "O"

Miss: Although I loved snuggling with the boy, his mother insisted on reminding me about this huge paper we have to write AND made it a point to tell me it is due a whole week earlier than I realized. Darn it.

Repeat the mantra....last major paper, last major paper, last major paper.......

Hit: Taking the peeps to the Children's Museum on "free day"!

Miss: Frugal Mom fail. Apparently every mother, father and grandparent in Indiana and Ohio had the same idea. And it was raining.

Hit: The kids enjoyed it anyway and I got to count activity points for the massive amount of walking.

Miss: It was freaking packed. So much so, I'm surprised the fire marshall didn't show up to shut them down.

Hit: Packed a sensible lunch and stayed within my WW points.

Miss: This is what I looked like when I stepped on the scale this weekend. Freakin 1.8 lb gain.

Hit: Four free kids meals at Frisch's with Valentine card coupons. Woowoo!

Miss: I don't really like Frisch's.

Hit: Had a nice long week off of work.

Miss: The kids gave me their cough and chest congestion the day before I'm due to go back to work. Heathens.

Hit: Tess peed in the potty all day long today.

Miss: She only does it if she is naked from the waist down. Not sure how well that will go over at daycare.

Hit: Finished my state and federal taxes. Should get a big fat check!

Miss: Can use it to pay my city taxes. Blah!

Flight of ideas.... cause that's how my mind works

2011-02-14T02:35:00.002-05:00

Aunt Krista had a birthday yesterday. Her last from what I hear. They will no longer be mentioned or celebrated, hence, she will not age after this year.

Yep, she's older than me. Still.

I mentioned going out to eat for her birthday but she is doing pretty well on this fancy shmancy diet of hers so she didn't want to mess it up. (Has to be fit to walk the Great Wall, don't ya know?) Instead she went to look for paint samples. Ooh, the excitement.

I, however, am not doing too hot this 5th week into my diet despite joining back up with ww. Okay, so I did lose a whole 0.8 pounds this week, but aren't you supposed to lose a FEW when you first start following a diet? So far I have gained 0.2 and lost 0.8, so really I'm only down about a half pound. Ugh! I'm not even going over my weekly points, darn it.

To get my mind off that mess, the hubs and I went out for a pre Valentine dinner to this place. Kind of a little hole in the wall stuck in a strip mall so you might never even notice it. It was worth the God forsaken amount of points I ate though. Thank goodness I had only eaten whole grain waffles for breakfast.

Even still, I really bit into my weekly points. And if you ever taste the sinfully delicious coconut shrimp with PINA COLADA sauce, you would totally understand. My ground beef enchiladas rojas were a little greasy and nothing too spectacular but Bobby's carnitas tacos with cilantro and lime were yummo! (And probably a whole lot fewer points, come to think of it.)

I guess it's a good thing I weighed in this morning. :op I have a whole week to make up for it. I think Jillian and I are going to have to start hanging out again. I'm going to try to stick with the 6 week 6 pack abs since I will be heading to Cancun in, count em, 6 weeks and 5 days!! Maybe I really will have a 6 pack by then. Jill says I can.

Got to be on call at work on Saturday so we caught up on a few movies. We watched The Road which is an utterly depressing take on the post apocalyptic world based on the book of the same name. Which I should mention, you should probably not read if the movie was depressing enough for you. While I'm not thinking the world will be all sunshine and roses in the aftermath, I would like to believe in the decency of people. Yep, that's me, the eternal optimistic. What? Stop snickering.

Also watched The Last Exorcism. Sort of the Blair Witch Project for exorcisms. It's a little slow to start, gets a little freaky, yet possibly explainable, then throws in a surprise ending that ends up being expected, if that makes sense. Bobby didn't think it was very good, but I thought it wasn't too bad. Definitely slow to start, but plausible, at least until the very end when the rational explanation kind of went out the window and the freakiness turned into typical horror movie antics. Still, it freaked me out enough that I had to fold clothes while turned sideways in the darkened hallway for fear that a possessed/mentally unstable 16 yr old girl would be standing behind me if I turned my back.

Yeah, I have a window phobia too. Can't look out the windows in the dark because there will be a possessed/mentally unstable 16 yr old girl looking in..... See how the idea is planted?

Speaking of planting ideas, also watched Inception. That was a good one. Can't even begin to fathom the depths of imagination of the folks who came up with that idea.

How bout you? Seen any good movies lately?

Oh, remember how I complained that The Other Guys was the dumbest movie ever? Not so. It actually had a couple laughable parts. No, "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" with Nicolas Cage, that's the worst movie ever. I actually had to turn it off. The acting actually got worse the further you got in, if you can believe that. Even Nic Cage sucked, which is too bad cause I liked him in almost every other movie he was in. National Treasure, Face Off, Lord of War, Matchstick Men, The Family Man, THE ANT BULLY, for chrissake........ even Con Air with his horribly bad southern accent was a good one. Please, if you like Nicolas Cage at all, DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE.

Oh, and happy Valentine's Day, the official Hallmark holiday.

Is it Spring yet where you are? I could almost believe it yesterday when the thermometer reached up into the 50's, but then I think back to just a few days ago when it was 0, yes, ZERO degrees...... I'm ready for warm. Or at least, not so darn cold.

The first of several

2011-02-08T12:52:00.000-05:00

February is the month of birthdays around these parts.

Hard to believe but this one is turning 14.

What happened to that cute, snuggly, little baby boy?

I'll tell you what.

He turned into a typical, lock yourself in your room, avoid your parents and ignore your siblings teenager.

Yeah, birthdays aren't too exciting at 14. He came out of his cave for dinner, went back to the cave to eat it, then came back out to investigate the darkened dining room.

He stayed long enough to blow out some candles, open a card, and eat a piece of cake.

Isn't Teagan's expression a hoot?

Daddy got a card too although he was behind the camera and claimed he's had too many birthdays for this one to matter anyway. Their birthdays aren't for another week but I had to give them their gifts a little early since they got the same thing.

Tickets to see this guy this Friday......

P.S. The scale is still not my friend. I broke down and jumped back on the WW train, logging into WW online last Thursday. Hopefully this new points plus system will work out for me. Unfortunately, my weigh in this week was after birthday cake night and only 2 days after starting back to WW.

And the scale moves the wrong way, again, 171.8lbs.

I think it is determined to keep me from seeing the 160's........ever.

Happy New Year!

2011-02-03T07:55:00.001-05:00

Welcome the Year of the Rabbit! I think it's going to be a great year!

Let's hope Phil is right

2011-02-02T12:45:00.000-05:00

Punxsutawney_Phil_predicts_an_early_spring

Happy Groundhog's Day!

Icy wonderland

2011-02-01T23:16:00.000-05:00

There was no school today. We celebrated with a happy snow day cake. Or should I say ice day cake.

I know it may be hard to tell on the steps

but everything was covered in a sheet of ice.

And what's worse, it started raining in the afternoon and just kept coming down.

School has already been cancelled for tomorrow.

Just hope the power wires hold out....

Week 3

2011-02-01T00:48:00.000-05:00

Weighed in yesterday at 171.6, which is sort of a gain, but technically a loss...... if you remember the rude things my scale had to say last week. :op

For those of you adventureous enough to venture out tomorrow, could you bring me some Koolaid and diapers? Forgot to pick those up this morning at the grocery. Probably because the grocery was a MADHOUSE. I got a little flustered. I don't do crowds. Have I mentioned that?

Guess the kids will be drinking water and Tess will be potty trained by the time this storm of historical proportions passes through. Have already gotten the 2 hr delay call for school tomorrow. Pretty sure the kids will be spending the day with me. So much for catching up on some studying.....

Week 2

2011-01-26T05:22:00.000-05:00

I've decided to just completely skip my weigh in for this week. That's not to say that I didn't weigh myself, just that I am going to ignore the scale. Cuz I didn't like what it told me. Apparently, having an all night eat and drink fest for your birthday followed by a couple more days of eating and drinking yourself into oblivion might possibly annoy your scale and make it say mean things to you, like "Fat Ass! Get off of me!"
Or something like that.

Hopefully, the scale will have recovered from it's psychotic break by next Sunday.

Week 1 success!

2011-01-17T22:54:00.000-05:00

First week weigh in: 171 lbs!
Down 3 pounds this week.
Good thing I don't weight in again until next Sunday, as I sit here with my Starbucks Caramel Macchiato ice cream. What? They gave me a coupon for my birthday. How could I say no?

It's snow fun!

2011-01-12T23:04:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe we were just wearing sweatshirts on 1-1-11.

1-11-11 was spent in snowpants, hats, and gloves.

Even Buddy joined in the fun.

Waterproof gloves make all the difference. Of course, I had to take a break from the spending freeze to get them, but good winter gloves for four little peeps were hard to pass up when they went on sale.

The freeze hasn't been going all that great anyway. I knew I'd spend a little picking up dinner for the kids last week between orthodontist appointments and work. However, our Sonic dinner got a little expensive when my battery died in their parking lot.

My husband had to come save the day and bring me a new battery.

And he's been spending ever since......... but that's a whole nother post.

Since we're failing at the spending freeze, perhaps I'll do a little better working towards my weight loss goal.

I started the Special K challenge on Sunday. Let me just say, it is so easy to eat nothing but cereal. If only I didn't have to feed everyone else. :op

Okay, maybe I am simplyfying it a bit, there's a bit more on the plan than just cereal, but you know what I mean. I think any diet is fairly easy, as long as you don't have to feed anybody else food that's not on the plan.

I've been trying out J. Michaels new 6 week Ab video too. That first day about killed me. If you think it's just an ab workout, think again. I don't think I had a muscle that wasn't hurting the next day. I had to take a two day break between instead of just one. Today was my second try at it. I'll let you know how I feel tomorrow.

Laid to rest

2011-01-08T12:26:00.000-05:00

A sad farewell to a fallen hero.... I never knew Deputy Hopper, but her loss as a wife, mother, and officer of the law weighs heavy on the hearts in this community.
With a sister in law enforcement, this really strikes close to home and reminds me how fragile life really is and what a gift each day is. Hug your babies close and don't miss a chance to tell your loved ones how much you love them.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the sons of God (Matt. 5:9)
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matt. 5:4)

Community bids farewell to fallen hero: wdtn.com

What not to do

2011-01-04T00:14:00.000-05:00

Want to know why it's not a good idea to sit on a bench with your hands and your feet tucked into your sweater?

Because this cute boy......

Might turn into this boy.....

Teagan did a faceplant right off the dining room bench. Unfortunately, since he thought it was a good idea to sit there with his arms and his legs tucked up into his sweater, he had nothing to catch himself with besides his face. It's hard to hold back the tears when you listen to the screams of your child. And the nurse in me all but disappeared as I fought off the dizziness while watching blood poor from my child's nose. His dad swore he must have broken his nose. It was so flat when he first picked him up and like I said, the blood just poored from it.As if that wasn't bad enough, he managed to bust his lower lip open on his teeth. I don't think he broke it. I mean, it would hurt more if he did, right? I don't know, but it sure is swollen right across the bridge and you can tell around his right eye is turning a little purple and is swollen. Remember the last major fall this kid had? Check out the scar above his right eye that required 30 stitches.

This pic is actually from the next morning. The day of the event it was pretty ugly. The poor kid looks like a prize fighter. I asked him if Mommy punched him in the nose and he said "you would never do that." Good answer since he has to go to school tomorrow and there may be some questions.

Revolutions

2011-01-03T08:07:00.001-05:00

Or is that resolutions? Whatever. Looking back to last January, I found my goals for 2010:

Lose 10 pounds.

Pay off 2 credit accounts.

Stay in school.

Not surprisingly, they were my goals for 2009 as well and I plan to revolve them right back around to 2011. Go with what you know, eh? You know me, ever the recycler.

I heartily failed at goal #1 last year. Not only did I not lose 10 pounds, I actually gained 10. I made a sorry attempt at losing weight towards the end of last summer and again right before the holidays. Alas, my heart wasn't in it, so I failed, again. That little weight loss tracker over there on the right? Ignore it. It will be stricken from view shortly. I'm starting with a clean slate.

Paying down debt? I'm always working towards that. And although we acquired a little more debt when we bought our camper, I did manage to pay off Tanner's braces. Good thing too since Travis has an orthodontist appointment today. Let's hope we can go another year before #2 needs braces. In case you don't know, orthodontia is flippin expensive. Multiply that x 5 kids.....

Anyway, in order to focus on reducing our debt, I have become a crazy mad coupon cutter. I still seem to spend quite a bit at the grocery but that's because I haven't figured out how to make my family survive on cleaning products and toothpaste. For whatever reason, there are rarely coupons for meat and produce. You know, the things you actually eat.

I'm also reimplementing the spending freeze, which has become a January tradition. It just feels right to move past that huge spending month of December by spending less. And it only makes good sense as we move further into the Great Recession to be proactive about spending responsibly and saving what we can.

I'll be starting that on the 4th though since I know I'll be cheating today. Orthodontist appointments at 4pm, 30 minutes away home + work at 7 pm = drive thru dinner. And I just had to get a yummy congratulatory Cold Stone cake to welcome a certain little someone into an absolutely awesome family.

And goal #3? Without question, the easiest. I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel now. When I started this journey, my littlest T was only 5 weeks old, it seemed like the end was so far off. But, I have it in my sights. This quarter I'll be finishing off two classes before moving on to clinicals next quarter! Woot, woot! Class of 2011, here I come!

How's your 2011 shaping up?

Welcome 2011!

2011-01-03T01:13:00.000-05:00

The hubby and I welcomed in 2011 with the toddler. Okay, not really. She was in bed before midnight. And we were actually in the middle of a movie marathon when 12:00 am rolled around, so maybe we didn't welcome it so much as notice it.

Aunt Krista took all the boys to her house to have their own NYE party and Miss Tate spent the night with her best bud. So Mom and Dad figured it was the perfect night for chowing down on some Pad Thai while watching a crapload of movies without interuption. Although, technically, the toddler didn't feel too good and did interupt the movies a few times. So we rang in the new year like the homebodies we are and avoided any and all parties that may have come our way.

So far it's shaping up to be a great year. One of the nicest couples I know got to ring in the new year with their brand new baby boy. My niece, Mia, will finally be coming home this spring, and I will be graduating from midwifery school this fall. 2011 is looking pretty awesome!

She strikes again

2010-12-30T08:03:00.001-05:00

Gosh forbid I take a phone call and leave my purse, with makeup in it, lying around.....

I wonder what could have happened.

Hmmm, it must have been someone with small hands.

Uh huh, I think I found the guilty party.

Tess the Mess strikes again.

Dancin machine

2010-12-29T08:32:00.002-05:00

If you noticed the sneak peek yesterday, you may have already figured out what this post is about.

Aunt Krista gifted the kids with a Wii dancing game for kids.

Tatum and Braeden were jamming pretty hard.

Tess thought it was a little too much excitement for her new baby and had to put her to bed on the beanbag.

Even Aunt Kristy got in on the action.

Truth be told, it is kind of hard. Tatum really kicked my butt on the pop songs.

But hey, I rocked out to If you're happy and you know it. :op

And the aftermath.....

Christmas recap (beware, lots of pics)

2010-12-28T13:32:00.000-05:00

Before they tore into things

I had to switch over to the flash. They were moving too fast to prevent the blur factor.

Yes, this is a crazy sing a ma jig and before you comment how weird it is,

I'll let you know that Tess loved it and promptly kissed it on its freaky mouth.

And now that that's out of the way, it's time to play!

You may notice the fading bruise on Tess's cheek. We took a tumble down the stairs. I thought I would share the bruise on my cheek too, you know to document the whole experience on the blogosphere and all. But that would require me to take a picture of my BUTT cheek. :op And I just don't feel that comfortable with ya'll yet. I slid down 5-6 stairs while holding Tess. To prevent dropping her, I didn't catch myself. Have you ever seen those cartoons where someone slides down the stairs with their head bouncing on every step? Yeah, that's what it felt like. Despite some bruised cheeks, a massive headache, and some severely bent glasses, we survived with no broken bones or concussions. Needless to say, my bruise was a whole lot bigger than hers.

See that stroller there? Already broken. Yep, Tess buckled herself into it then tried to stand up. She pulled the seat cover completely off. You just can't get high quality in a $7 stroller these days.

Time for a little breakfast with a new Dora movie.

We did it, we did it, we did it. Yay!

The rest of the family came over in the afternoon to stuff themselves and dig into more presents.

Teagan and Braeden

The unwrapping goes in age order, in case you were curious.

It was all a blur after this.

What you got there, Tess?

Ooh, a sneak peak of what's to come.....

Hope you had a Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T08:23:00.001-05:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Traditions

2010-12-24T04:00:00.002-05:00

For the past, oh I don't know, gazillion years, Aunt Krista has been clothing her nieces and nephews in matching penguin jammies (yeah, she has a bit of an obsession) and squeezing them all together to capture the moment.

Not only did we have to contend with my five (including a 2 yr old who hadn't napped), but we threw another 5 yr old into the mix.

Getting them all to look at the camera and smile at the same time was no easy feat.

Can't you almost hear Tess yelling "MERRY CHRISTMAS" in this one?

Uh oh, lost a couple.

Still not quite right.

We may be losing them...

Would you believe this is the first pic I took?

And besides the grumpy look on the teen's face, I think it actually might be the best one.

Tatum is what?

2010-12-23T03:19:00.002-05:00

Eight? Seriously, eight?

Yes, it's official.

We squeezed her birthday celebration in between cookie baking and bedtime on Monday,

and at 3:19 am today it really happened. My biggest girl became an 8 yr old.

She is getting a little big for her britches, figuratively at least, so it must be so.

She chose the Christmas bulb cake herself. Fitting for the girl who decided not to wait until her New Year's Eve due date, but to come out in plenty of time to get her own Christmas presents.

She's been impatient ever since.

The girl loves to sing and dance so we gifted her a karaoke machine, which she has been annoying her brothers with since first plugging it in.

Oh, what will the future hold for you Myra Tatum Princess?

Happy birthday my little Tatey bug.

We love you to pieces.

Cookie baking 2010

2010-12-22T01:57:00.000-05:00

Monday was the night for our annual Christmas cookie baking festivities.

We included cousin Braeden in the mix this year.

Which made things a little difficult for a couple little peeps.

They would much rather play together than make cookies.

If I remember correctly, Tess sat out last year and watched from her high chair.

This year, she joined right in.

They all disappeared for a bit before the cookies were done, but returned eager to jump into the decorating.

With a little bit of mixing...

Whoops, some one's got the wrong idea...

They all got busy with the decorating....

At least for a cookie or two.

And then boredom set in and they were off again.

But looking at some of their creations, can you blame us for letting them go?

The rest were finished by us grown-ups.

I'll let you guess which ones the kids made.

After a very draining experience baking and decorating all those cookies, the kids snuggled together to watch Polar Express (for Braeden's 37th time).

I swear that kid could retell the entire movie in its entirety as it is playing, including his most favorite parts,

all 98 of them.

Next year should be an even bigger adventure when we add Mia to the mix.

White Christmas

2010-12-12T12:19:00.000-05:00

After a couple "warm" 40 degree days, the snow returned.

Sorry, I missed it

2010-12-06T00:07:00.002-05:00

Remember the pic of my adorable girl in her adorable Grandma made hat?

Well, Ni hao y'all was giving not one, but two of my mom's adorable hats away in her 30 days of giveaways. I mistakenly assumed that you'd have 30 days to hop over there and throw your name in. Dumb me.

Unfortunately, the giveaway has ended, but....... you can still hop on over to the Not your average Grandma Etsy page and pick out one or two of your own. It may be really hard to decide..........

You could pick one of these Christmas stocking caps

or an adorable sock monkey

Or a beanie with a big pink rose

Or even a boys beanie

Or a Santa hat!

Aw, but this one is really cute for girls

Or boys

What about one of my faves, with a wide stripe?

Or three thin stripes?

Or even my new fave........

Of course, there is always the cute little pixie hat!

Good luck picking just one!

Where did he go?

2010-12-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

No words needed.

Meanwhile.....

2010-12-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

While I was finishing up the Christmas tree the other night,

I noticed that the littlest T was nowhere to be seen.

And then we noticed the water.

Dripping from the dining room ceiling.

Tess the Mess strikes again!

Yep, that's shredded toilet paper stuck to her dress, and stuffed down the sink.

It's up

2010-12-02T06:47:00.002-05:00

After standing in the corner all forlorn and woefully undecorated for days, the tree is finally decorated.

While Tanner was way too cool to participate, the rest of the kids all joined in, at least for a little while.

Only one glass ornament had to be sacrificed this year.

I think this was Tess's favorite spot.

After a little rearranging, it's plenty good enough.

Holiday Home Party

2010-12-02T03:31:00.001-05:00

Some of the blogs that I drool over are hosting a Holiday Home party. Now I never thought that I would actually participate because I know that last year I was such a slacker, I didn't actually get any decorations up until the week before Christmas. My plan was just to ogle everyone else's decor. While I didn't link up with The Lettered Cottage's Christmas Mantel party on the 30th, it was not because I don't love, love love, Layla's house or decorating style. Alas, I do not have a mantel.

However, I actually do have some of my holiday decorations out. So while I was ogling everyone else's posts over at Rhoda's Christmas Vignette party, I realized, HEY, I have one of those. So I took a little break from my peanut butter and apple slices, lit some candles, and snapped some pics.

This is the top of the entertainment center, which I don't normally do much with, which includes dusting, because, uh, it's the top of my entertainment center. But when you start pulling out the decorations that you bought at last year's after Christmas clearance, you realize that you might need a little more space.

And yes, almost all of this was purchased in the clearance aisle because I'm ~~cheap~~ thrifty like that. And I tend to think that the creative gene that bypassed me might just one day show up.

That big huge ginormous mercury glass ball up there is way too heavy to hang on the tree. But I LOVE it, and I have never been able to figure out what to do with it. I just hope it doesn't fall off of there when my rambunctious tikes start running around in the morning.

Here it is in all its nighttime glory. And yeah, I do realize now that I obscured my 5 yr old's face from view. but I wasn't about to retake these. It is 3 am, you know, and I should be studying.

Hope, Peace, Noel, and Joy

I'd forgotten how much I love candles until I had them all lit with the lights out.

So cozy and pretty.

You can almost make out the glimmer from the Christmas tree in my beautiful glass ball.

Now head on over to Rhoda's party to see even prettier holiday decor.

A trip to the mill

2010-12-01T15:48:00.000-05:00

Not the mall, the mill.

It's a bit of a drive to this old mill, but we haven't made the trek in a few years, so we ventured out on a balmy 50 degree night. Not only was it not cold enough to freeze your toes, but it was not crowded. At all.

There is a very cool miniature village which the little kids loved.

And some of the big kids too.

There were trains, planes, trucks and dragsters.

And a very cool little drive in that was playing Rebel Without a Cause.

Can you tell what's happening here?

The kids sneaking out of the trunks were caught by the police!

Can you tell who's house this is?

After ogling the miniatures for what seemed like forever, we headed over to Santa's workshop, where the big man himself pops out of the chimney. Every 20 minutes, convenient, eh?

This was Tess's first experience with jolly old St. Nick. After tearing her eyes away from the animatronic reindeer on the roof, she finally caught sight of him and gave him a wave.

Speaking of Santa, we popped into the Santa museum next to see Santas in every size.

My wild bunch

Two smiling boys, one girl who didn't think to bring her own coat despite being told to wear a sweatshirt and not to forget her hat and gloves because it would be cold, one moody teen who refuses to smile, and a toddler who's all about the candy canes.

This really is a site to see. I'm glad we made the trip before it got too cold, or crowded.

They've added a very cool new light show set to music. I don't remember it the last time we came.

Of course, it was crowded, and cold.

You can't tell here but the white lights twinkle, like a waterfall.

Over the river.....

and turning for one last look......

If you're ever in this neck of the woods, you should definitely make plans to stop by the Clifton Mill.

Welcome winter

2010-12-01T14:45:00.001-05:00

The snow is coming down.

December in Ohio.

It's beginning to look alot like.....

2010-12-01T03:48:00.001-05:00

On Monday afternoon, before we headed out to this place

we took advantage of what will probably be the last semi warm day to throw some lights up on the house.

This one wasn't helpful, at all. In fact, she made it just a bit more tedious.

This one didn't want his picture taken so this is all I got, before I had to chase that one down there

back into the house because she took off her coat and hat and gloves.

What's up with the grin?

I mean really, is she related to Popeye?

Anyway, this is the end result. Not the greatest pics but I took them from the car.

Remember, we were on our way out to see much fancier lights.

This pic is probably a better depiction of the true colors. We went with LED lights for the first time.

I'm not sure how I'm liking them.

I mean, yeah, they use less energy, they shouldn't have to be replaced before I die, and you can string a gazillion together without blowing them up, but the blue is just really, well, BLUE!

I suppose next year when I don't have to pull out and replace several dozen burnt out bulbs I'll be glad I splurged. And even with an after turkey day sale, they were still a splurge.

Cheater, cheater

2010-11-30T02:08:00.001-05:00

I cheated and weighed in Thursday morning, BEFORE Thanksgiving dinner.

Woohoo! I'm still 171. Well, at least I was that morning.

And I promise, I might actually update on something besides what my scale says soon.

By the way, have you had these? YUM!!! Probably not all that low fat when you eat them straight out of the box, but hey, they must be better than snarfing potato chips, right?

Week 3

2010-11-21T22:00:00.001-05:00

Up .2 pounds. Not terrible, but Thanksgiving is this week. Blah.

Hey

2010-11-17T03:03:00.002-05:00

By the way, down 2.6 pounds this week. Woowoo! Currently hanging out at 171.

Tess the Mess (maker)

2010-11-12T14:06:00.000-05:00

While trying to study, up walks Tess smelling a little, um, sparkly fresh.

Following our noses, up the stairs......

Who could be the culprit, you ask?

Well, beyond the fact that the older kids were still at school,

it's a little hard to hide your guilt when you smell minty fresh.

Back to the point

2010-11-07T01:18:00.000-05:00

Or the points, I should say.
I've been totally sucking at this whole diet thing lately.
I lost 30 pounds last year by tracking W*W points.
Since I stopped tracking them, I've gained 10 pounds.
I have been gaining and losing the same 5 pounds since summer.
And darnit I just cannot stay in the 160's!
I have tried a couple different diets thinking that if I just pay attention, the weight will come off.
Uh, no, apparently, I need the points to keep my self accountable.
And Jillian.
So at the eatingest time of the year, I'm back to counting points and hanging with Jillian.
And yeah, I did just invent a new word. So what? You know you're going to use it.

Starting weight this week 173.6. Dammit.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T14:34:00.000-04:00