Things I've Learned From My Weight Loss Journey

1. Weight loss is HARD. Seriously. I have earned every ounce I have lost through hard work. It never gets easier, and actually when you get down to the last few pounds it gets even harder. (Or darn near impossible in my case.)

2. Maintaining weight loss is even HARDER.

3. There is no magic solution or one thing you have to do to lose. There are so many variables and every person's right way is different.

4. I am proud to say I have never done any pills or crazy diets to lose weight. That is not to say I have not been sorely tempted when the scale stops responding.

5. I LOVE working out. There is no way I could have accomplished what I have if I hated it.

6. I am competitive. Even if it's with myself, I get a kick out of lifting heavier from one day to the next or learning something new and doing it well. (I also really like lifting heavier than almost everyone else in class.)

7. There is a fine line between healthy and obsessed. I cross this line frequently, but usually I can pull myself back.

8. The scale sucks. That is all. Sucks.

9. The awesome compliments stop coming when the weight loss stops. I'm still trying to find my own way to appreciate myself and not be so needy of those compliments.

10. I will never reach a final "goal" and be done. There will always be something to improve on. (This one is a difficult lesson when it hits. I soooo thought I would hit that magic number on the scale and be satisfied.)

11. Finding like-minded friends has been the best thing that has happened to me. I have never been good at making friends, but now I can talk to people in my classes and we encourage each other.

12. One of my big goals now is to help other people. I'm not sure yet how I am meant to help, but I know that I have something to offer and if I can help or encourage one person with my knowledge/story, then I will be happy.

13. Food is still my kryptonite. Some days I'm great, some days not so much. It has been even harder to not give in to temptation when I don't see results from my disciplined days.

14. I don't think I will ever be a runner. I still hate it. The thing is, there are so many things I do now that I said "never" about that I can't be sure that 5 years from now I won't be running a marathon.

15. Even after all of my lifestyle changes, my blood pressure remains high and my Iron levels stay low, and that pisses me off. I want to be healthy in all ways.

16. I'm a homebody, stick to the routine, antisocial kind of girl, but my new lifestyle doesn't really fit with that so I have had to re-evaluate what is important to me in all areas of my life.

17. Not everyone is ready to workout/ eat healthier/ lose weight/ change their lives at once and that is OK. It took me until I was 35 to make the changes I needed to and I am still a work in progress. I do not judge anyone for the choices they make. BUT. Somehow I think it comes across that way because it is such a big part of my life right now.

18. I go through cycles (sometimes several times a day) of being satisfied and proud of myself for what I have accomplished or frustrated and mad at myself for any perceived setback. The last few months have been difficult because I am watching the scale creep up, up, up and nothing I do seems to help turn it around.

I want to say thank-you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me along the way. I have the best friends and family a person could ever hope for.

I'm Overdue for an Update

So I was reading my last post about what I was going to do after P90X2. Hmmm. That's not really how it turned out after all. I started Insanity The Asylum, got through about a week, and sprained my ankle. Now that is enough to make a person angry. Thank goodness I was only limping for a day or 2 and I healed right up thanks to my new strength and health. But I was scared to death to try Insanity again. That workout is beyond intense. I know now that it was just too much for me, even though I don't like to admit that I quit something.
So after my ankle got a little better I actually went back to my old faves, Turbo Fire and Chalean Extreme. I used a hybrid schedule and got through most of that during the summer. Summer. Oh how I love having summers off. Unfortunately I actually was making less time to workout and eating more, not to mention the vacation eating. I am a person who really needs a routine to thrive. So while I love my summers, it was really nice to go back to work a month ago so I could establish my new routine.
And that brings me to my new endeavour. I joined our local YMCA! It took some convincing for my husband to agree, but after showing him how important it was to me (I really needed something new.)and how much it would benefit all of us he agreed to sign up. I love it. I surprisingly like working out with people, either in a class setting or just nearby so I can see what they are doing. I love love love Zumba. I've been going to a Zumba class about 3 times a week, resistance training about 3 times a week, and then I get on the elliptical or the rowing machine about twice a week.
So I've had this routine about a month now, and I am very happy with it. But. I still have these last 5 6 pounds that I want to get rid of. And they don't want to leave. At this point I'm not sure if I have it in me to change anything else or work any harder for it. They might just be sticking around and I might have to be happy with my current weight. But! The thing is, I am still noticing changes, both in my body and in my confidence/mental state. My arm muscles are amazing if I do say so myself, and I almost never feel like I need to cover some random fat spot I am noticing. I can wear a size 4 or 6, depending on the brand, which is way smaller than I ever would have set as a goal starting out.

The end result of all these musings is that I am going to keep doing what I'm doing and try not to worry so much about the scale as about the reflection in the mirror is telling me. And I realize some of this sounds very braggy, but I have worked very very hard for what I have. I spent a lot of years not happy with my body. I know that anyone with a goal can accomplish it. Just start and take it one day at a time. Research, connect with others, find something you enjoy, make small changes, etc., etc.



Today: September 30, 2012

My P90X2 Collage

I would love to encourage someone else to make the change that they would like. I welcome anyone to contact me with questions or for a pep talk.

P90X2 Results and What's Up Next

I finished finished P90X2 on the 31st of March- 4 weeks each of 3 phases, with one rest week in the middle. Because this program isn't heavy on cardio, I didn't expect to lose a lot of weight plus I really only want to lose a few more pounds anyway so I tried not to worry about that scale too much. I managed to get down to 146, about 8 pounds down from the first of the year. When I look at pictures, I don't see a big difference, but I can see that the shape of my body is changing. I continue to stand straighter and leaner each month. I am getting very close to having the body I always envied of others.

I was going to take a week off after I finished to give myself a break, but I just couldn't do it. I am officially addicted to exercise. So I started Insanity the Asylum on April 1st. Woah. Seriously this is like nothing I have ever done. I have gotten through 4 days and I have been so sore the entire time that going up and down stairs was torture. Just today I am starting to feel a little more normal. Today was the first of only 2 rest days for the entire 30 day program and I needed it. This program IS heavy cardio so I hope to lose another few pounds and get closer to my ultimate goal (130's!)

I also signed up for a 5k this weekend with my sister. I don't run. I don't like running. But I want to be able to say I've done it so... We did a practice run Sunday (also Day 1 of Asylum, might be a factor in my extra soreness) and we got done in about 32 minutes with one short walking break at the halfway point. I hope to do a little better at the race, but I am worried about it being in the morning. I also don't do morning workouts.

So wish me luck and I'll post my race results and Asylum results ASAP.

Quick Fitness Update

Ugh I am so bad about keeping a blog....

Anyway I want to update my healthy journey status. I started this journey on January 1st, 2011 with some Wii and Turbo Jam. May 1st I started hard core with Turbo Fire and Chalean Extreme. When I finished my first round on September 18th, I was down 35 pounds and smaller than I had ever been as an adult. I kept working out but had a bit of a slow down from then until December, losing only 5 more pounds. Then December was awful. The combination of holidays and a wisdom tooth removal had me put those 5 pounds right back on.
So I recieved P90X2 as a gift and decided I would start that on January 1st. Those 5 pesky pounds quickly came back off with Phase 1 (plus I got my eating back on track). Now I am finishing up week 1 of Phase 2 and the weight is dropping again. I am down another 2 pounds (a lot considering I am now past my original goal), and I am seeing more definition in my arms and abs. Plus I am determined to do a real pull-up by the time I am done with this.
I have decided that it doesn't really matter what program/workout you choose when trying to lose weight or get in shape. It matters that you commit yourself to it, put 100% into each workout, and make sure to change things up every once in a while. And it helps to enjoy it, too. I actually look forward to my workouts every day and miss them on my rest days.

So here is an updated collage. Not seeing big changes anymore, but...

11 years on 11-11-11

Friday my husband and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. Let me start off by saying that in the past we haven't had big celebrations/gifts/surprises for anniversaries/birthdays/holidays but I let hubby know that this year it was important for many reasons for us to do something special. I let him plan the weekend and make it a surprise (even though I hate surprises) because that made him happy. My only stipulation was that we go away but not too far just in case we were needed at home for the kids. (His Mom was kind enough to stay with them.)

To start the adventure, he said we needed to leave by 4 on Thursday afternoon. I got home from work a little after 3, we packed the car, and we were off. I was so excited just to be getting away that I really didn't care if we just went to a hotel. I knew we were headed north but didn't pay attention to our surroundings because I read the whole way. After a little more than an hour we pulled up to the Fireside Theater. Something I have always wanted to do. I was very surprised and happy with this first stop.

So the food was awesome. It was a buffet, but not a Hometown buffet. A fancy buffet. There was a sweet potato dish that was to die for, fish, some chicken dishes, meatballs, enchiladas, and carved meat. So nummy. Dessert was a fancy "Santa's Chimney" with dark and white chocolate.

Mr. got way too stuffed at dinner and was slightly uncomfortable for the beginning of the show, but I think he decided it was worth it. The show was amazing. It was their Christmas Revue- songs from movies, carols, hymns, comedy, and kids. It is a very small theater so all the seats were great and we just loved it.

After the show was more driving. When we pulled into the parking lot we were at the Hilton Garden Inn right next to the Milwaukee airport. I was very nervous for a minute that he got carried away and we were getting on an airplane the next morning. But no, it was just the convenient hotel for the rest of our trip.

Next morning we got up and drove around for a bit. We ended up at the mall walking around for a while, then the movie theater for Tower Heist. Cute movie. I enjoy Ben Stiller.

We had skipped lunch so then continued on to dinner: Outback (of course, some people might say) and then the next surprise. We drove to downtown Milwaukee and walked to a small theater. I was oblivious until he had me take a picture of the sign right...now.

Oh wow! I love Paul Simon! The opening act was the Punch Brothers, who were also really enjoyable. We had very upper level seats, but it didn't matter. The music was great and the drunk people were quite amusing.

Ok, on to Saturday. In the morning I was actually given a choice: "Do you want to go to the Milwaukee Public Museum or no? They have a Cleopatra exibit." Sure I do. I like things like that. (Have you noticed that we do a lot of things like we are old people? I swear everywhere we went this weekend most of the people around us were 50 years older than us.) So that was our afternoon. Then dinner at the food court at the mall and another drive downtown.

This time we parked at a different theater. I was warned ahead of time that we would be laughing a LOT, so wasn't too surprised that we would be seeing a comedian. I hadn't heard of John Pinette, but was informed that I would enjoy him. What did surprise me was being shown 2nd row seats! So close.

Anyway, he was funny. So funny that my mouth hurt and I was having coughing attacks from laughing so hard. That hadn't happened in a long time. Definitely you should check him out if you get a chance.

Sunday morning. Time to go home. I had a wonderful weekend but I was ready to get back to my home and kids. My last surprise was on the drive home. He gave me a lovely card with tickets to the upcoming Brad Paisley concert inside. Floor seats. Yippee! Perfect end to a perfect anniversary.

Report Card Day!

I love report card day. I always look forward to feedback from the boys' teachers on how they are doing, and am proud of them no matter what. This report card made us a little nervous because Joey started the gifted program this year and the teacher let us know that we should not expect straight A's. She stressed that the kids are being tested on 5th and 6th grade materials (they are in 4th) and as long as they are mostly getting A's and B's we should be happy. Well, Joey is getting A's and B's! 3 A's- math, spelling and social studies; and 3 B's- reading, English and science.
Ben is not getting letter grades yet, but he also has an awesome report card: S+ in reading and math, E in spelling, and S in English. His conduct is S-, but I am proud of how far he has come and how much better he is doing from even last year.
Good thing I made pumpkin muffins before they got home from school today, because they sure deserved a treat!

Dancing Baby

We were carving pumpkins for Halloween and Tommy was "helping": he'd reach in with is scoop, swish it around, and bang it in the garbage. Daddy was cleaning out the junk drawer, (I know, random, but he was looking for the carving tools.) and he found an old CD from Kriss Kross. Remember them? No? Well, you shouldn't. But they had a fun dancey beat, al least Tommy thinks so. Check it out:

Sick :(

Yucky. I am so glad I rarely get sick anymore. I have the cold and it came on so suddenly last night. I worked out fine at about 4, took the boys and Grandma for dinner, and by bedtime felt some sniffles. When I laid down, though, my nose just started dripping. I fell asleep, but woke up later with super dry cotton mouth because I couldn't breathe through my nose. Today my nose is still dripping and now I have a {small} fever. Except I haven't run a fever in ??? years??? and it feels really yucky. Plus the boys are wound UP! And Grandma left after staying for two days, but Daddy will just be getting home in the next few from his work trip to Tampa. I just want to go to bed.
But...Halloween weekend! I love Halloween! We need to get pumpkins and carve them, then find some Trunk or Treats, trick or treat, etc. etc. Ugh. Was this whiny enough for you????
So I am going to put my warm jammies on since I am freezing and let the big boys put on a movie and hope the little one can be contained for a while. See you in the AM feeling better {fingers crossed}

Halloween Costumes

We are getting all geared up for Trick or Treating. Joey and Ben decided way back in the spring that they would like to create their own costumes and ask Nana to sew them. After some drawing and shopping and compromising, these are what they came up with. (Thank-you Nana for doing this for us.) Ben is a Ninja. He thinks he might need some nunchucks. I think not.

Joey is "Skull Man" (his name). He is quite proud of it.

Now the baby. We have a monkey costume that was handed down:

Or a vampire that both of his brothers wore:

And Grandma got a Thomas costume:I'm pretty set on him wearing the vampire costume, but the others are pretty cute too....

And here's mine:

Velma, same as last year (different clothes). Pay no mind to the dirty mirror. SOMEbody likes to admire himself and touch all over it.

My First Run

Whoops! I let a few days go by without a post....
I wanted to post about my run on Saturday so I will start there. I am signed up for a 5k this coming Sunday and since I never run I thought I might give it a try (a few friends are walking it so I am not too worried about having to run). I took the 2 older boys and their bikes with me to the bike path, did a little stretch and hit the trail. And ran. Immediately realized that my capris are too big. I had to run while hiking them up every few steps. Joey said "You should have done a practice at home to make sure." Well. Other than that the first mile was easy peasy. The next half mile was slightly more difficult, but I was at a 10 minute mile pace and thought 3 miles was very doable. So at 1.5 miles we turned around to head back. And then my bladder started talking to me. Not very nicely. No bathrooms at any point on this path. So the last mile involved some brisk walking in order to keep my pants at least somewhat dry for the drive home. Got back to the car in 34 minutes. Not bad for a first run. Straight back home and into the potty!
Sunday my shins and calves were pretty sore and by Monday they were really sore. According to my HRM I burned similar calories to my workouts at home and I find them way more enjoyable (plus the bathroom is nearby), so I still don't think I'll ever be a runner. But I am glad I tried it and still looking forward to the race- if nothing else I get to visit with some old friends.

Not much other news at the moment. I want to try to post pictures of all of our costumes in the next day or so. Tommy has several options so maybe we can have a vote for which one he should wear on Halloween.

A Picture Update

Isn't he the cutest baby ever? Just this week he has started talking and communicating sooo much. He asks for an app-o when he wants a snack, shoos or molk when he is thirsty. For a long time he has called all animals Sasha (our dog's name), but now he learned Grandma's dog's name and animals are boo-boo or Sasha. He loves balls and points them out wherever he sees them. And whenever something is missing (sometimes because he hid it), he says "(where)Is it?" then when we ask him where it is, he says "don't know" and shrugs.

A picture of the boys with Uncle Joe during his visit. They loved hanging out with him for the week.

Just a cool pic of Ben. Something about the lighting (and his eyes) appeals to me.

A rare family pic. Of course we can't all be facing the camera, but still pretty good :)

I would also like to mention that I am one.point.five. pounds from my goal weight!!!!!!! So excited and proud of myself for coming this far and I have no intention of stopping now. From here I am just going to aim for 5 pounds at a time.

Snippets

Some things you maybe don't already know:
*Tommy is 18 months old (almost 19!) and has yet to sleep through the night.
*Joey finished 3 books today. 3! (He tends to read several books at a time.
*Ben is a night owl and prefers to sleep in in the morning, but he has been surprisingly agreeable about getting up on time for school this year.
*We had a houseguest this week (left today). We enjoyed having him but I am happy to be sitting here in my jammies right now.
*I signed up for a 5k. I'm thinking I want to try to run it?!?!? I just feel like this is the next step for me in my fitness quest.
*I love my job. Love it. Love 3 year olds. Do not love the "outside the classroom" stuff and nonsense.
*My bathroom is rarely clean. Know why? 4 boys. Boys are messy. Boys are sloppy pee-ers.
*My laundry is always done. Know why? Not sure actually. Just something I can easily control I guess.
*My toenails are bright blue today.
*I really like the new show Pan-Am, especially Cristina Ricci.

Ok, running out of steam. Thanks for visiting. Come back soon.

Shopping!

I got paid yesterday for the first time since May, so I kinda felt like there was some $ burning a hole in my pocket. Plus I've had to buy a lot lately, but it has been all "need". So today I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond- got 2 new pillows: the side sleeper pro and the cloud pillow (hoping for better sleep), a new Yankee candle in Pumpkin Spice (25% off), and a full length mirror (the only mirror in the house was the vanity in the bathroom. Moved on to Target, my fave. Got a new jacket, a dress, jammies, workout clothes, costume for Halloween, and socks (I think that was it). My problem right now is that everything that I try on looks good to me and I want to buy it. I've never been able to go in a dressing room and really love how something looks on me before. So I spent a little more than I intended but it felt pretty good, and I will try to control myself for a while now until I get down another size. :)

Back to Blogging (again)

I just sat and read all of my posts from the last 3 years and am so sad that I didn't keep up with my blog since Tommy was born. There are so many stories on here that I barely remember about Joey and Ben but they are here forever to look back on....
So I want to recommit to blogging again. Stories about the boys, my fitness news, and so on and so forth.
Today I will list Tommy's words that he has so far:
Da-Da
Ma-Ma
cheese
sticker
shoe
Joe-Joe (and Ben but they sound the same)
Sasha
Tom-Tom
Mine
Where it is?
I don't know (this one is new)
poo-poo
teeth
no-no (while pointing to his nose)
eye
ca-ca (icky)
fishies
Love you
night night
juice
cracker

That's all I can think of for right now. Until tomorrow (or maybe the next day)

My Turbo FIre/CHalean Extreme Results

I began my weight loss journey on January 1st of this year after deciding that I had no excuse to get fat again. Tommy was born last March and all of my pregnancy weight had come off with nursing, but as soon as I stopped in December (plus those pesky Holidays) I put on 10 pounds. I knew that if I could stay committed I could get to a point of enjoying workouts. I also knew what it felt like to be close to a healthy weight and in shape. I had done this 11 years ago shortly before my wedding.
So I started small- Wii workouts 4 to 5 days a week. Smaller portions and less eating out. By May 1st I had lost 12 pounds (not nearly what I had hoped), and was ready to start Turbo Fire and Chalean Extreme. I was committing to a 20 week schedule of working out 6 days a weeks for 45 minutes to an hour and a half each day. 3 days of high intensity cardio and 3 days of strength training. I enjoyed the workouts from the beginning, though some days were harder than others to get going. By the end of June I had lost 10 more pounds and was starting to feel more confident and comfortable. In the beginning of August I hit my original goal of 160- 30 pounds lost. More and more people were noticing and commenting on my results.
Now it is September 18th and I have reached the end of my 20 week schedule. I missed a couple workouts when we went on vacation and had to adjust my schedule for other priorities on occasion, but I have completed the program. My results since May 1st:
Weight: 178 to 155 23 pounds
Pant size: 14 to 8!!!!!!
Shirt size: L to M
Bra size: 38c to 36b

......and pics:

The Story of Thomas' Birth

After a pregnancy with many potential issues- Mommy’s high blood pressure, an indication of slow growth, high amniotic fluid levels, etc., we never expected to go all the way to our due date.
Well….that’s what happens when you have expectations. March 15th (cousin Charlie’s 1st birthday) came and I was so hoping that so would Thomas. At our appt, Dr said I was dilated to 3 and if I wanted she would induce me Thursday, March 18th as that was the next day she was on call. Oy. I was so uncomfortable, had been having contractions for weeks, and really just wanted him to come out so that I would know that he was ok. But I went home to wait. Tuesday started out with contractions about 10 minutes apart for most of the day. By 3:30 in the afternoon they were about 5 minutes apart but still not as strong as I thought they should be. I took the boys to the park since it was the nicest day of the year so far, came home and called Daddy to let him know that tonight might be it, then tried laying down for a bit to be sure it was time. While I was laying on the couch, I felt a small gush of fluid and was so excited. Yes, my water is at least leaking, we can go to the hospital and have this baby. Called Daddy to go get Grandma, called Dr to let them know I was going, and ran around getting my bag packed. This was at about 7pm.
We got to the hospital at about 8 and they let us know that I was being admitted and induced whether my water broke or not. Yay!!!! We knew then that were very likely to have a St Patricks day baby. Daddy was in love with the idea of calling him his little leprechaun. They took an hour to check us in (to the hottest room in the hospital), and got some pitocin and antibiotics started by about 10. When we started I was still at 3 :P At midnight I had progressed to a 5. Great, I thought, this is going well. Ha. At 2 am I was getting miserable. They checked me and I was still at a 5. Grr. Not sure I can do this without an epidural. We decided to just get something to take the edge off the pain. Dilauded made me feel real good between contractions, and took the worst of the edge off so I felt like I could keep going. Dr also came and broke my water and I thought it would have to be over soon. They checked me 20 minutes later because Dr got another call and I was at a 6. Great. Moving right along again. But at 4 the meds wore off and the pain and pressure were intense. Checked again- still at 6. Aaaggghhh. Please give me more meds. Gave me meds, but the pain was getting more and more intense. Said it felt like I had to push. At 5:10, checked me again. No, it is not time to push, you are still at 6. NOOOOOOOO! I really feel like I have to push! I’m going to push! Don’t push. Just a minute. Went to get another nurse. I need to push now! I’m pushing. The other nurse comes in and I am pushing and he is coming. Oh my God. His head is out. There is no Dr, just one nurse saying ok, ok, ok. Bill pushed the panic button while she caught the baby. Out came baby, in came many nurses and such (so I hear). Still no Dr. A few minutes later the staff ob comes in, is quite short with me, has no idea what is going on, but manages to help with placenta (easy) and give me a few stitches. I feel awesome. The baby is getting cleaned up and seems to be fine, I didn’t have an epidural, and he popped right out.
I’ve already forgotten the intense pain, and Thomas is sooooo perfect. He hasn’t really cried at all, nurses like a champ, and just loves to look around. His brothers are about to meet him for the first time and they are so excited.
Overall this has been the most amazing awful experience ever. Quite a story.

I'm Tired!!!!!

I'm almost at week 31 today, and the last couple of weeks have been HE## for me. First, the Monday after Christmas, my husband's Dad went into the hospital in Madison (an hour away) and it has been touch and go ever since on whether he would make it through. So Bill has been up there almost every day, plus trying to help figure out paperwork and benefit info for him (his insurance changed on Jan 1). I had planned to get the baby room ready over break, but since my husband was MIA, I didn't have anyone to lift the heavy stuff anf it is still not done.
Also the boys have been very umm....wild lately and I'm sure it is partly my fault because I don't take them out enough, but see my title. It's hard. I am not sleeping at night, not comfortable during the day, and I have had no one to help me. I was very close to a bit of a mental break yesterday, but I think I'm feeling a bit better today. Bill plans to be here with me at least part of the day and carry some stuff out of the baby room. The boys and I went to Kidspot (a gymnastics center) for a while last night, so they got some energy out. I have hopes for maybe going out to dinner tonight, too.
The thing is, I feel like a bum sometimes because I know that there are Moms out there who work full time all the way to the end, and single Moms who have to do it all by themselves every day, and obviously there are many many people who have it worse than me....but I can't seem to cope for 2 weeks by myself, and I can't get everything done that I want to because I am just too tired. Oy

So I am hoping this gets better soon. I am very much looking forward to meeting this crazy, active baby of mine. I do love him already. And my FIL seems to be making some small improvements, so hopefully that stress will ease up a bit as well. We pray every day that he gets better and is able to have a few more years with us.
So thanks for reading my whiny rant. I don't visit the Dr again until next Monday, but I get another ultrasound then, so I'm sure there will be an update.

28 week appointment

Today I got to go to the Dr for many tests in preparation for a healthy delivery and baby. I had my glucose test (yech), an ultrasound (yay), a 24 hour pee test for protein (ugh), and my thyroid tested. I have noticed that my new ob is much more conservative than my old one. She really wants to keep an eye on me every step of the way, which is very reassuring if not particularly convenient at times. She let me know that starting at week 32 I will be coming in twice a week for NST (I think just making sure the baby is moving around and doing fine) along with an u/s every four weeks till the end.
Ultrasounds are awesome. I wish we could just watch him play in there all the time. Today he was as uncooperative as last time for getting pictures, but she did confirm again that he has boy parts. He is also head down at the moment with his hands and legs still over his head. I wonder if he'll straighten out when he comes out? And he weighs almost 3 pounds already- about 10% over what is expected. The u/s tech asked if I usually have big babies. Yup. But that's ok. Big and healthy will do just fine. Just won't need any newborn clothes.
Christmas is in just a few days and I find myself more connected with Mary this year- this is the first year I've been really pregnant at Christmas and it just makes me appreciate more what she must have gone through. We're getting there on shopping- hoping that Joey maintains his belief for at least one more year even if it means spending a little more moola. I'm doing my best not to get the bad Mommy award and ruin it for him, like I have done with other magaical creatures and other children (oops). I am sad that none of my students gave me any homemade goodies this year-I love Christmas cookies! (And I'm not making them myself.) But I did get plenty of decorations and gift cards and other very generous gifts. I am so blessed to be a teacher and work with so many wonderful families.
Christmas cards are not even in concept phase yet, boo. I still hope to get them done, but they might arrive closer to New Years:)
Have a very blessed and merry Christmas. Love to all.

Quarterly Update:)

Egads! I know it has been forever! Now that I've waited so long to update I really don't even know where to start, so... I think you get a small update now and then when Christmas break comes (1 more week!!!!) I'll try to catch up everything.
Mostly I haven't been on because my energy has been completely gone. This baby DRAINS me. I do my best to get through each day at work, come home and do the minimum chores, and try to take a nap between the other boys' demands. They've been getting to watch quite a few movies lately.
The pregnancy has been going well otherwise since my early blood pressure scare. I take meds to keep it under control now and they seem to be working. The baby is very active, kinda like Ben was, so I worry that I'm going to have another Ben on my hands. At the ultrasound he kept waving his hands and feet in the way when the tech was trying measure or get a good picture. Very funny, but I sense the feistiness. At my next appt in a week and a half, I have my glucose test, a 24 hr pee test, a blood test and another ultrasound. I'm kinda hoping he settles down a bit so we can get a better picture, and it did take her a while to decide he was a boy, so I hope we can get a clearer picture of those parts as well. I'd hate to prepare for a boy and have a girl come out.
We've been talking about names but haven't made a definite decision yet. We also haven't gotten the room ready, although I hope to accomplish that over break. I'd like to decorate in Monkeys but we shall see.

School has been going well. There are certain things that I just don't feel up to some days (can you say no shaving cream?) but otherwise I'm keeping up. The kids ask me funny questions about the baby and I have one student who wants to know each day if I've had him yet. I have great families and we've stayed fully enrolled. It seems like every time we lose someone, another family calls for a spot.

Joey and Ben you ask? Well...they are certainly taking advantage of Mommy being tired to get into mischief, but they seem to be pretty excited about the new baby. They've been aroung their new cousin, Charlie, enough to realize whats involved in having a baby. Hopefully he doesn't cry much, because Ben can't stand the noise. Joey is doing awesome in school as always. He still loves to read and has been gragging that he reads "teen" books because one of the series he likes is found in the teen section at the library. Ben is also doing great in school. He is apparently a great singer even though he won't sing for me. I worry a bit because he still doesn't pronounce his "r" sound, but I think he will grow out of that.

Ok thats all for today. More soon (I hope) and definitely once the baby comes I'll update better.

I Know I Said This Wouldn't Be A Pregnancy Blog...

Whoops. I was trying to be better....
Anyhoo...
I had my second prenatal appointment yesterday and it was horrible. First the scale said I had gained almost 10 pounds in a month, which also happens to put me back where I started a year ago when I got back into working out. Amazing how easy it is to put weight on. Then I the nurse took my blood pressure and it was 140/90. Bad. Mid-pregnancy your bp is actually supposed to be lower than normal. So she checked again. 140/90. Then she left for a few minutes and came back to check it again. 136/86. Phew I thought, going down. Then the Dr came in and was VERY concerned about it, especially after hearing that I had this problem with my 1st pregnancy (even though that was much later in the pregnancy). So I have to come back in 2 weeks and be more closely monitored. She didn't say I am high-risk, but I think I am approaching that threshold. I also have to save my pee for 24 hours so they can do furthur tests on my kidneys. Ugh. I came home so upset and depressed, which I know does not help any of my problems. After a few hours I remembered that I have a bp cuff at home so I can self-test. Every time I've taken it since last night, it has been 115/78. Normal. So, I'm hoping and praying that I just have a touch of white coat syndrome, because I REALLY cannot afford to be taken off of work early.
In other news, school starts Tuesday and I am completely full with 47 3-year olds. I can't wait to get to know them. We had meet the teacher night on Tuesday, but try to imagine 47 kids, their parents, siblings, and some grandparents all in one little bitty preschool room all at once. It was a little crazy. I think I met about half of them and could identify about a third right now. Next year I am having one class at a time come in.
Ben, my baby (for a few more months), turns 5 tomorrow. He got to pick dinner tonight because tomorrow is Joey's Cub Scout campout and he is going with. He chose Hometown Buffet. Eww. In the morning before school, we will take him to Toys R Us to pick out what he wants and he will celebrate at preschool tomorrow and next Tuesday at my school with Logli's soft cookies. He has been so excited for weeks to get to pick out some toys, because Mommy has been on a no new toys strike all summer. They just have toooo much, mostly thanks to Grandma, and it ends up all over my house instead of being played with. So it will be an extra special treat for him to get something new.
Oh, the pigeons: we haven't won a race yet, but I think we one one particular branch of a race (don't ask, I don't understand all the details). For his first year, though, everyone else in his club wonders how he is doing so well. And we've lost less birds than most other lofts as well. Always look for the positive, right?