Day 9.. Now this time... stay lost.

Mornin!
So I weighed in and some how magically lost 8 pounds. EIGHT. Thats like a newborn. Its like I gave birth to unwanted fat and now its gone..hopefully forever. And I didnt suffer this week. I kept myself busy and kept the stove and oven going with acceptable foods and viola.. somehow ate myself into losing more than a bag of flour. Motivating?? I think yes. So today its poached eggs for brekkie and chicken for lnch and din din. Im almost back to where I was "pre holiday binging and not giving a shit"....

Busy week this week!! Tonys 30th is this saturday and Im sooo excited to hang out ith friends and just chill and listen to some great tunes. The kids are going up to Gigi and papas this friday so they are super excited as well..

Off to my laundry and to make some brekkie for the offspring and I.

Weekend Update.. with

Dinner day 6 ..spaghetti squash with organic spaghetti sauce and mixed greens with homemade tangy tomato dressing.. yum!


Breakfast day 7.. leftover egg cupcakes and strawberries

Its been a crazy busy weekend... but a great weekend so far!!
Hope everyone is having a nice relaxing weekend with their valentine xoxo

Day 4...Check yourself or you'll wreck yourself.

Mornin!

So last night I had a fabulous date night with my hubs. We went to Meijer and pamida (i know, thrilling) and then to Luckys for dinner. He got a delicious looking prime rib and shrimp special and I got an amazing spinach salad with bits of bacon, hard boiled egg, tomatoes, red onions... oh and a POUND of blue cheese. I did see on the description that it said blue cheese but I thought well ill just scrape it to the side and Tony can eat it. Right. When the salad came,...altho very beautiful it was very obvious that I wasnt going to be able to do a quick scrape. But I did manage to remove 70 percent of it, and instead of eating a couple bites of tonys prime beast, I just counted it as the protien part of my dinner. Its not really allowed tho on the paleo plan so I feel a bit bummed out about it being on there. Overall tho, I feel I did well. I skipped the AMAZING garlicy herbed loaf of bread they constantly replenish, and also we both drank water with lemon.. not diet pop/reg pop. From now on tho- Ill make sure I custom order things Im planning on eating at a restaurant.. afterall I am paying them to make it s why not get a little picky!

For breakfast this morning, Im having 2 hrd boiled organic omega 3 enriched eggs with my left over zucchini sautee , 3 kumquats and some red peppers. Not only does it look fantastic, it tastes super yummy.

The lesson I learned last night at Luckys is that I had to not rationalize eating all the delish blue cheese. I had to recognize that it wasnt part of what I was suppose to be eating, and do what I could do to eat around it. I couldnt let myself be talked into eating it even tho my brain is a master manipulator. Would it have completely ruined my weeks worth of work? Probably not, as it wasnt a dozen donuts or something. But it IS the little things. In every way of life eating plan there has to be a little give and a little take. But that doesnt equate to a dozen crispy cremes (can you believe ive NEVER had one of those!) Drinking water, avoiding the bread of delight/doom and eating 80 percent of a salad I removed 70 percent of the sins from will still equal a win in my book. And if I compare it to the last time I was there where the DC and the bread was free flowing into my gullet, along with lobster pasta with cream sauce then its a double win.

Plus.. it was time alone with my adorable husband :) Us mommys need to feel like girls again too sometimes!

Have a great day everyone!

Day 4... check yourself before you wreck yourself..

I have lots to talk about today.. but it will have to wait till tonight as my hosue is full of rambunctous kiddos and Im afraid the walls will collapse if Im not supervising :)

Heres some pics of my delightful dinner yesterday and brekkie

Day 3...The fog is lifting.....

So I woke up this morning.

And it was BEFORE my alarm. And I wasnt tired at all. Now mind you, I watched gLee and then went to bed shortly after getting lunch and snacks and backpacks all together for school today, so I did have a good 8 hours of sleep in, but with two wake ups by kiddos and the urge to pee like twice, I was VERY surprised that I felt so rested. I dont remember the last time I woke up and felt rip raring ready to go. I wont actually attribute it to the new eating, nor the lengthy sleep until we are a few more days in. BUT I enjoyed it immensely-- and I hope in continues. Every morning at 7 I have to have all the kiddos up and get them all ready so we can drive Anthony in to school...so me being on point really makes this time alot less frustrating. And that was with NO coffee, no diet coke (i love you and miss you), and no hot cocoa or something delightfully breakfastish that I used to frequent.
So thats good news I suppose.

Other points..Im always warm now. And yesterday, my face was even flushed a little bit in the late afternoon. Its almost like I can feel the furnace inside burning up some extra fat. I woke in the night a billion degrees and have reverted back to walking around barefoot. As I type, Im enjoying some decaf green tea and Im actually roasting. But its free heat and Ill take it :)

Tony and I had a discussion this morning about americas eating habits... again its so NOT surprising that we have an obesity epedemic when a BAG of cheesy poofs are 1.00 a bag at kroger. And a PEAR I bought yesterday, yes a single lonely pear, cost me 1.38. Thats 40 cents more for ONE pear (which they devoured the instant I turned my back altho I wanted to make a spicy pear salsa with it.. those piggys). So why WOULDNT the budget strapped, penny counting american choose to buy 3 bags of cheesy poofs instead of TWO pears? Seems like a no-brainer to me. Hopefully prices on produce and healthy stuff with start to be on te same scale as the empty calorie trans fat laden treats... if that were the case then maybe america wouldnt be in such a tight spot. Literally :)

I happen to hit kroger yesterday as they were marking down diapers (OH GLORIOUS DAY!)..even tho Elliana only wears one at night for safety sake.. it was amazing! I stocked up and got a couple to give as gifts,etc. I also got lots of english cukes on sale for 1.00 (the kids and I love them), zucchini, yellow squash, 4 cartons of strawberries, 3 fresh packages of salmon which I portioned threw in some fresh dill and froze, pistaschios,red bell pepper, and other asst goods. And its obvious when we are really trying to eat better here in this house because the grocery bills get enormous and fast like. Im sooo looking forward to spring and summer.. there is a farmers market right down the road from me. OH! And I also found the most amazing sun dried tomatoes that I put in the veggie sautee last night. YUM~ I was always a bit hesitant when it came to those.

Tonite is date night for the hubs and I.. so it will be my first challenge eating at some place other than home. Im hoping to do a chicken breast/veggie/salad kind of dinner. Not drinking my beloved DC will be a challenge but then again paying 2.00 for fountain pop always irritated me anyhow.

Have a great day everyone :) You InSpIrE me to make good choices and stay on plan!

Delicious fruit treat in a super cute parfait cup



Lean steak and a super tasty veggie sautee
Zucc, squash, sundried tomatoes, red bell pepper, calamatas

Day 2.. Caffiene withdrawls imminent

Hola.

Well. Its official. Im addicted to caffiene. And my body is screaming at me about it. Not only for the mini buzz and energy it gives me but for the mini buzz and the energy it gives me lol. BUT success cannot always be easy so Ill trudge on. Im actually typing to you as I eat a delish 7 lettuces salad with avocado and lemon juice as dressing. It will be interesting to see if it actually fills me up and holds me over till snack time (half of a handful of almonds).

I have to say this hasnt been all that bad so far. I know, I know, we are only on day 2. But Im more speaking in the terms of portions. Im not really limited to any portion sizes, yet find that a normal portion size is just right to fill up the belly. Maybe its because my brain doesnt feel LIMITED that its allowing me to only want to eat what I need to eat and not what Id usually eat. Food for thought I suppose.

Someone make sure they reference me back to this post come monday when the house is filled with valentines candy galore and make sure I stay on task.

As a glorious side note today, my children all decided they wanted lettuce with green goddess dressing for breakfast with their oatmeal. And they devoured a whole bag of seven lettuces. Im going to have to get creative with my breakfasts as it says limit egg intake to 6 a week. Im also going to pop over to kroger and load up on more fruit to be able to make a fruit salad for today and tommorrow.

Oh... and Im drinking bottled water with lemon in it. From the bottle. My arch nemisis. Id LOVE a diet coke right now. But I love my kidneys more so off to refill.

xoxo
Bre

Dinner Day 1

Chili with tomatoes, green onions, garlic
Very yummy on a super cold night

Paleo Lunch Day 1

Paleo Lunch Day 1
Chicken Breast sauteed in a bit of EVOO
Broccoli with lemon juice
YUM!

Day 1.. The break-up... "its not you, its me."

So guess what? Ive let you all down once again.

I let life, and stress, and even breathing become more important than eating right, exercising and blogging my heart out to you all. And even tho I missed my daily blab more than I thought I would, still pushed it to the back of my brain and ate and ignored and ignored and ate, rinse and repeat. I HAVE NO EXCUSES! Soooooo... that brings us to today. And if you'll all still have me, I'm back at it with a vengeance and ferocity unmatched. Hold the reigns y'all... we are back on the wagon.

My dear weightwatchers. Altho you've worked for me twice now, I am falling out of love with you. Why, you ask? Why the heartbreak so close to valentines day? Why the break-up so cold and callous via blogger memo? Because. You don't teach me to stop eating shitty food. All you do is teach me to be creative and manipulate the system. I can still eat mcdonalds and taco bell and even LARD if I want to. And altho it comes down to some calorie equation only einstein could compound and evaluate, NO ONE needs to be eating those kind of foods. Maybe you are making my body littler, but with the points you alloted me, I could eat an egg mcmuffin meal for breakfast, cheeseburger meal for lunch (with diet coke of course) and taco bell fresco tacos for dinner AND still have enough points left for a mcdonalds 3pt ice cream cone. And even as a fat girl, any way I spin that I just cannot see the benefit to my arteries and skin and insides with eating all that schmoo. Including myself, I know more than 5 people who have lost a hefty chunk of weight on WW, gained it back, lost it again, etc etc etc. So before I proceed to regain all of what you've helped me lose, think its best that we part ways. Something is sill amiss in your programming as you aren't teaching this fat girl to eat (as matt would say) CLEAN. I know your new point system is a bit better, but when you give ANY fat girl the right and permission to eat as many fruits and veggies as she wants for O points, that's not helping. Guess what.. maybe Ill eat 10 bananas today for a whopping extra 900 calories. Plus all my points, plus a few of my extra weekly allowance. How that's suppose to help me lose weight is beyond me. And I know, I know, some of you are saying.. well its suppose to fill you up with the fruits and veg and then you ll eat less other foods. Right. And that sounds good. Actually it sounds fabulous. But that's not fat girls mentality. You cant give me permission to eat ANYTHING for no cost/detriment/point reduction. I obviously have will power issues. Duh. Id rather avoid your 1500mg+ of sodium smart ones that I'm hooked on and start eating salt free. I might get thin eating smartones/lean cuisines/lean michaelinas coupled with a DC,but I'm still gonna die early from hypertension. Enough is enough.

Hence the delightful picture posted above. Today this chubby chica is going Paleo! I know..it even sounds cool when you say it! I thought about it, googled it, read about it, rethought about it.. talked it over with Tony and I really think its going to be fun. ALtho when I told him we would have to cut out bread and pasta he was like "Do PEOPLE DO THAT?!?!" So for him, (hes totally not overweight and is in shape) he will get to have some pasta and bread along with the kiddos, but will have to suffer thru the whole grain kind :) I'm also going to post a picture of each meal I make cause the prettier I make it look the better my brain thinks it tastes (very important as there was no salt or pepper in the scramble and I love salt)

And most importantly, I'm going to start reporting to you all again. So prepare your self for some crying and ranting and raving as I believe bread is my soul mate and pasta a treat from God himself. It is time to get healthy from the inside-out. That might mean starting to raise a buffalo in the backyard for eventual slaughter, but rules are rules.

Time to get dirty bout eatin' clean.

Ugh Kroger..again you disappoint me.

Hi.
I'm Bre.
Nice to meet you....again :)

So.....Im back and Ive made new and exciting improvements :) Well Im WORKING on new and exciting improvements. Im trying to transition my WW daily points into a 70% raw lifestyle. For my first week I switched most of my daily snacks over to fruit, veggies, or popcorn (I know, its cooked- but Im not going cold turkey here). Had a couple small hiccups as I had guests over for 5 days so of course I was cooking up a storm to keep them happy and well-fed. But overall.. it wasnt a bad week. I got on the scale today and I weighed the same as the last time I had weighed-in.. which was like a month ago. Yikes. I know. Shame on me. I was so desperate to make the 40 pound mark by my bday party that I barely ate that week or drank for that matter. You can tell from my pics at the party.. at the beginning of the night im looking ok and by the end you can tell my cheeks are puffed up more than usual from all the DRINKING and eating i was doing. And then it just went on to turn into a WEEK of leftovers eating and pizza and drinking and uggggggggggggggggggggggggh... same old me. Same me that Im used to dealing with that I thought I had gotten rid of. But wow.. it only took some nasty eating for a few days and I started to rationalize it all again. So heres to you huge roadblock.. you won that time.

So......having thought about how I was for some reason getting stuck (even tho I have loads to lose still) I thought about eliminating some of the tasty snacks I was having (altho within points) and replacing them with regular old fruits and veggies. Also..starting my day out with a smoothie really seems to keep the hunger at bay..so I figure Id throw a smoothie in there at some point which makes my kids happy as well (and they dont even mind the veggies in there!)

I also read about a chocolate lovers diet in my mothers wonderful "womans world" she accidentaly left here (dont worry, she called to make sure I knew it was here and to save it for her lol) So I was also thinking about maybe getting crazy and trying that for a month and posting the results here too. I might as well turn it into a damn science experiment because to be honest with you.. i was getting BORED! I was eating the same stuff and snore snore...I wasnt blogging (sinner) and I was totally talking myself into shitt food choices and doing the minimum amount of exercise I could. Ugh.. sometimes I hate me.

But I digress...

So to do this fat girl gone raw transition, I need all sorts of grains and yummy fruits and veggies and agave and this and that and guess what?? KROGER has like 4 things I need. Their organic section is a frickin JOKE and its right by the wine aisle all by itself in a little kiosk. half of the stuff was reduced because who in the hell eats organic in imlay city where most of the people grow their own veggies and would rather remove a liver than pay 5.99 for a box of organic cereal. So I maybe able to score some good deals, but I also have to plan a trip down to Whole Foods. Its like an hour drive so Im hoping one day this upcoming week I will make it. If not, then it will have to be the week after next because the week after turkey day week , Tony and I are going on a mini vaca..(insert choirs of Angels singing)... and I want to look my best for that trip so Im hoping the raw foods Im substituting will start working their magic awfully quickly and Ill be a wrinkle free fox.

hahahaah............mommy always said I had an imagination!!!

Till tomorrow sweet readers..

Forgive..

forgive me for not posting in awhile.. life has gotten super crazy..

I will be back before you know it tho!!!


xoxo

Thought for the day (stolen from a friends fb status)

"May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you're meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are in yourself and others. May you use the gifts you've received and pass on the love that's been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love."

Anything more would be redundant.

A kick in the Ask...

So I have a confession. Ive been getting bored. Ive been sticking within my points but using them for garbagey food. Im not sure if its been because mother nature is here this week or what, but I am starving. Every minute I feel like Id like to eat a horse and spit out his hooves. Ive been filling my snacky hands with 1 pt popcorn, veggies, apples.. water and the go-to items. Yesterday, I didnt eat all day because the only things i wanted to eat were shitty garbage food. Is this suppose to happen? Is this the hurdle that Id always get too and then start eating crappy again and gain it all back? Ugh. I hope not. Thankfully this time I REFUSE to let that happen. Those 30 pounds were alot of work!!! And now that they are gone, I dont ever want to see them again. Its unfortunate that there isnt a "superfood" to help with damaged will power. We have the acai and blue berries and veggies galore that help us restore our bodies.. What about our willpower?? cant there be like a fat free, calorie free food that tastes like homemade bread fresh out of the oven slathered with butter, pizza, and chocolate cake with choc frosting?? In a capsule? I mean i guess my body does like to eat more healthful foods than not healthful. But when I am craving stuff (which I have been due to this week) alll I want is something I pry wouldnt even eat more than once a week if I wasnt dieting. Only i want it every day.. for brekkie lunch and dinner. its kind of sick. Today Ive only had a bowl of special K with unsweetened almond milk and some ice tea. Its so sunny out that all i want to do is grill up some ribs and some potatoes and steak and yummy delight. But Im scared that something cartoonish will happen... Like ill just pick up the whole grill, open my mouth, and swallow it whole.

Doesnt seem practical.. but lets face it, I am an eater.

It doesnt take much to make me want to falter.. if I hear someone else has went out to lunch or grabbed something off plan and tasty.. I IMMEDIATELY start to justify it. Like well if they are..then I could too and then just walk more or exert more./. and the rationalization begins. So far, Ive put it at bay. But Im disappointed that Ive used alot of my points for junky choices. Like cheese.. it costs me SO many points for like a handful of it. So not worth it... but I really wanted it the other day. SO I took 8 points for cheese. i could have had like a smart one and a fruit AND something else. I guess that is part of the beauty of WW, but its also part of the fact that Im trying to get rid of the bad eating habits.. or the eating for comfort habits... that got me in these plus size jeans to begin with.

I am nothing without support. And GOD he SO knows this (obviously). Like for example.. this has happened more than once.. Ill be in the middle of rationalizing away about how I should go here for lunch or make this and splurge on that for lunch.. and I will see someone who I havent seen in quite awhile... and they will compliment me on my weight loss or tell me that they read this blog and all of a sudden I get a reality check that HELLO!!! That burger aint worth it. Itll taste good for the 3 minutes max it takes me to eat the 4 inch circle, but then Ill feel yucky and be sad that I didnt utilize my points better.

I guess we all want this to happen overnight. But we didnt gain it overnight, right? It was years and years of bad choices and not enough activity that caused our fat cells to get greedy and start hoarding that water. But sometimes when I think that I have at least another 2 sizes to go, minimum, and another 5th grader that Id like to lose in body weight.. as much as Ive gotten cheers from people, and notes frmo people, and compliments from my hubs, I cant help but feel discouraged because in our modern society.. Im still a failure. if you didnt know I had already lost 30 pounds youd look at me and think.. wow shes alot bigger than in highschool. If you then found out I had just lost 30 pounds.. maybe youd be even more mortified. A girl I went to hs with told me the exact thing.. she said.. wait till you start losing and youre still looking at yourself like you look like a cow and here 30 pounds heavier you didnt think it was all that bad. Its called fat goggles. We get so used to seeing ourself a certain way, and then we start to accept it. But when we start to change our bodies for the better, we start realizing how we were on the road to ridiculousness.. with no end in sight.

Anyway.. thanks for letting me vent. Im in this to make you all proud too! I may have hit a little mental roadblock.. but I am in this to WIN this.. so back to hacking away at the jungle of diet and weightloss.. That cleared path of mindless eating and junky splurging might look easier.. but Im just not an easy kind of girl any more :) Im a little more like MacGyver.. only without the 80s mullet and the ability to make an airplane out of some dental floss and popsicle sticks.:)
xoxoxo

Attention mommies...

Well and daddies too.. well honestly anyone that likes to eat or drink :)

So if you havent seen it, the Krog has Welch's 100 percent grape juice on sale for 2.49. There are 1.00/1 and 1.00/2 coupons out there... some even hanging on these giant 64oz bottles of grape delight.

I went the other day and bought 12. And Im not done. I will go again before monday and buy 10 more. I cannot beat it for 2.00 for a giant jug of actual juice and not watery juice with sweetner. And yes, I am that mom. For the first month I was buying big boxes of juicy juice 100% juice boxes for anthony and Dom to take to school. But the other kiddos like them too and they were killing that box off waaaayyy to fast. They run about 10 bucks a box or at the base I can get them for 7 ish. So now, after someone finishes a mini bottle of water, I have been recycling them into homemade juice holders for snack and lunch. thankfully, my son is still too young to be mortified by this and Ill keep on sneaking it in there until he complains. Hey.. if you want to use allowance and birthday money for juice boxes, I wont argue :) So get in there and get some of those jugs. And some raspberries for the freezer as they are 10/10 again. Normally about 2.50 for the same tiny package and they freeze well. Ok , Im done soap boxing about my love of stockpiling. One day.. you will love it too :)

Second note before I make some lunch for the clan over here.

Today is Anthony's birthday. He is 6 years old!!!! First off, I cant believe it has been 6 years~ then again, if I think about it, it seems like just yesterday that he was born. My mom came down because they had stripped my membranes and had scheduled induction for the 30th at 7. But by midnight of the 6th, I was starting to have contractions (or what I thought to be).. and by 2:30a she had talked me into showering and having Tony take me to the hospital. After all the paperwork and changing and settling in, I found out I was already dilated to a 5! So soon after, the blessed epidural woman came in (didnt do a great job but it took the edge off) ... and a few hours later after 20 minutes of pushing.. we had a beautiful baby boy. And, he really was beautiful. He was all of 8 pounds, nice ounces of chubby, cherubic, full lipped, some hair, beautiful skin tone bundle of joy. And I know. Im his mom. Of course he was gorgeous to me. But Im also honest. For those of you that know Dominic now, you know he is the cutest, prettiest little lady killer of a 4 yr old.. complete with dimple. But when he was born.. at 7 pounds 1 ounce, 3 weeks early. He looked like an alien. I mean an adorable alien blessed with 10 fingers and 10 toes and everything in the right spot. But an alien, none the less. After a few weeks of the boob juice he was well on his way of fattening up and being much less E.T ish. But I digress.
I remember bringing anthony home for the first night. And I was so scared. He was crying anytime I laid him down in his bassinet. Thank God my mom was there. I kept thinking to myself.. who entrusted ME with all this responsibility?? How can I be in charge of another life? And such a little, and fragile one at that??
Sometimes when I look at him now, I still see that little meatheaded baby. His birth hair ended up falling out so he was bald for quite awhile and the new hair was quite blonde so even tho he had hair.. it didnt look like it. He did have the most beautiful ice blue eyes and his daddys smile. He was a very tolerant baby too.. Id load him up and we'd be off getting tools or supplies for daddy... delivering stuff, going out to dinner with friends, shopping, or just hanging out. Him and I had 13 whole months together before The Dom cheese came along.. and those are 13 months I will treasure forever. Maybe he remembers the time that it was just him? The days of singing and playing in his old navy bat pjs?...The time when he wore a tuxedo to our wedding when he was 6 months old? I sure hope so... because to me, those are some of the best memories of him that I will never forget.

Happy Birthday Beez :)
Love you to the moon and back!

Thirty? Thirty. Thirty? Thirty. THIRTY????!! What?! Really!??!?!?

30.

Funny how its a number Im starting to dread coming up on my birthday here in a month and a half or so.

Its also a number that makes me squeal like a suckling pig off to the slaughter.

This week at weigh-in. I was down 3.2 pounds. Those pounds let me get up and over the thirty pound mark. I'll admit it. I ran out into the living room in my underwear. And as scary of a thought that that may be, at least its a 30lb less scary thought. I think my husband thought it was his lucky day (love is blind after all), as I came cruising out into the sitting room clad in just black undies. "whoa whoa whoa...what are you doin?" I said "come see". He walked (briskly) into the bedroom where Im sure he saw the scale and put two and two together....I showed him my weigh-in log that Ive been very dedicated in writing each weeks weigh-ins into, and monthly totals... and then made him look at the scale.

Thirty before thirty.

Wow. Im telling ya people.. if I can do it..ANYONE can. And admittedly.. it wasnt that bad. Time still passes.. no matter if we are doing something to improve ourself.. or just doin the same stuff weve been doing. 30 pounds came off with healthy choices.. but also with getting to eat out with friends, making tasty food and learning to trick our minds and bodies that we are full when maybe we arent as full as we are used to being.

Can you imagine what the next 30 might be like? Can I imagine buying jeans in a size I havent even thought about since I was 18? Wow.

Gone are the days where Im used to failing and being ok with it. Failing is EASIER than accomplishing stuff. Yelp.. guess I cant do it. Yelp guess Ill start next monday. Yeppers.. Ill just binge one more day and start again tomorrow. Guess what.. it was actually MORE difficult to spend the whole damn day JUSTIFYING why we ate what we ate, or why we chose to over eat/over drink/over indulge.

Whew.. that certainly clears up alot of time to actually focus on ourselves, follow our plan and manuever thru the road blocks that life, kids, dinners and peanut m&m's throw at us.

Looks like making ticktock time for OURSELVES.. actually benefits others with all the free ticktock time it gives us to put forth towards overall good. If Im not eating stuff and wasting time defending to myself why it was ok, or feeling tired and lousy because im loaded up with sugar and fat.. then wow wow wee wow I am an actual particpating and needed part of the family. Go flippin figure!

Alright loves, I need ya now more than ever as I figure the weekly poundage loss may start to slow and the frustration and disappointment will loom only to be egged on by halloween candy, birthday treats, thanksgiving delights blessed and given to us from Our Provider and xmas treats from he who ho ho ho's
.
If you see me flailing and floudering about-----> call me on it.

55 days to go till the big 30.

Fifty-five? yes. Till Im Thirty? yessum.

We gots some work to do. :)

Gold and Silver..

Short post tonight... more to come tomorrow am.

I caught up with an old friend over the weekend. Altho it had be a while since we've gotten to chit chat.. it was as tho we just saw each other yesterday. The thing is about friendship.. distance doesnt hurt it, time between visits doesnt shake it, and an occassional hi, how are ya, text can do just the trick even if it is few and far between. Old friends understand you, even when you dont talk, they read your mind sometimes even before you think. Some days when youre feeling blue..youll get a random text from them or a super sweet card as IF they knew you needed a little boost to get you through the day. When you just answer that call, its as if youre just continuing a conversation youd been having all along.. even tho you havent spoken in months or so. Old friends are heartwarming. I hope I'll be considered an old friend to someone at somepoint in my life.

Lesson learned from girlscouts.. about 23 years ago:

Make new friends, but keep the old...
Some are silver, the others, gold.

Even tho Im writing this.. Im actually asleep.

Whew. I am tired. Tired in that cant keep my eyes totally open, really want to lay down on the couch with a blanket and the weinergirl, please let it be bedtime asap.. kind of tired. You wouldnt think it would be like this. Afterall, 5 days a week now from 7:10 until 3:30ish I am T-minus one of my offspring. That should reduce my workload by 25%, therefore improving my energy. I will admit tho, that there is definetly a different dynamic here in the house during the day. Rocco and Anthony arent constantly trying to claw each others eyes out, fist fight, punch and run, or the old standby bite and pinch, each other so that part is refreshing. We are all still getting used to Anthony being gone... Dominic, Tony and I have all yelled out "Anthony!" when there was something we wanted him to see, or hear, or when its lunch time. I cannot imagine what it will be like in 3 years when I have all 4 of them in school! I mean I understand my day time will be freed up from diapers and the lunch and snack and play/craft routine, but I am SO sure it will be filled up with more grocery shopping for more lunches, snacks, school projects, and laundry to the moon and back. Just thinking about how quiet it will be kind of freaks me out. Im so used to hustle and bustle and talking and babbling that Im not sure how Ill handle it all. I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there :) Till then.. I better just enjoy every day I get these 3 kiddos at home cause soon enough they wont want to be sitting on my lap and giving me nose kisses. They will want me to act cooler around their friends, not kiss them and/or acknowledge that Im their mother in public, not embarass them at sporting events, etc. Soon, instead of the 4 of them all fighting constantly for the attention from Tony and I, they will be ignoring me, slamming doors, rolling their eyes at my endless affection...and becoming a teenager. Altho I am excited to see what these babies grow into.. I best gather up as many hugs and drooly kisses that I can for the time being.

Time waits for no one.

Drained.

Whew. Made it through Anthony's first week at school. Overall, it went waaay better than I anticipated. He got up great every day, was excited for the bus, and generally happy with what was going on during the day. Ill take that as a win for the D'Ambrosio household :) I was really kind of worried how he'd go so long without eating or snacks with his endless pit, but hes doing great. The house definitely has a different chemistry without him. Dominic has started to take on the role of the leader (which means trouble!). Him and Rocco were chumming around with the girl and there really weren't alot of tangled up arms or all out brawls. Must mean my babies are growing up! Tear :'( So i did some garage sale-ing this weekend and found Elliana a brand new OshGosh pink snowsuit with adorable flower print.....for 5 bucks. I about jumped up and clicked my heels together. Normally id try to barter and get it for less but I already felt like I was STEALING it from her. So I happily paid my 5 bucks and a couple other single dollars for an adorable xmas dress and pink fleece. Ohh....I just LOVE a good garage sale. You know, the ones where when you pull up theres more than 3 tables of random junk? But a whole garage full and tables upon tables just waiting to be picked over and bartered for? There is nothing worse than driving for like 2 miles to find a garage sale and then when you pull up it is either A: consisting of 3 tables of screwdrivers, old christmas decor and duck decoys. Or B: The house where its at is at the end of a SUPER long driveway.. and usually Im too scaredy chicken to pull down that drive because I soooo do not want to end up in a deep hole in his basement having to rub the lotion on my skin!!! (shudder) So here's to you... garage sale host pro fess ion al. Keep on buyin your kids full price, name brand clothes. You have great taste. Ill be back next year to fleece you again for a big bag of stuff for 20 bucks. My boys will enjoy the long sleeve Nike shirts in mint condition for $1/each, old navy swim trunks for .50/each, and for Elliana, the beautiful holiday dress it looks like you customordered from somewhere high-end ..for $2 I will gladly raise my garage sale acquired kitchy coffee cup to you... you're helping me get more budge in my budget :)

First day of Kindergarten :)

Ok for starters..

I weigh-in yesterday and was baffled to see a 4.4 pound loss. Woot woot for ankle weights and constant yard work!! Must have been the slave labor that made the fat melt :)

So today was my oldest first day of kindergarten. I feel like a kid myself because I am SO very excited for him. He is so ready for school. Hes been counting down the days for weeks now.. kind of like he does at christmas. I am looking forward to birthday parties, and friends over and that sort of thing. tomorrow will be his first day ON the bus.. and Im nervous! But Tony will follow the bus and make sure anthony makes it into the school all the way to his classroom which is at the complete opposite end of the school. Next monday, Dominic starts preschool.. monday wednesday 12-2:45. Again, very excited. Hoping I can hold it together mentally to keep track and remember all the snacks and lunch and crayons and towels and extra clothes and gym shoes. Im thinking of getting one of those magnetic calendars I can stick on teh fridge. Relying on the crackberry for a schedule system might not cut the mustard anymore. I might need more VISUAL reminders that I have to make 5 dozen cookies by 5pm. LOL!!

And it begins :)

So my goals this week are to...get my daily exercise in the form of yard work/leg weights/basketball/soccer/etc.. its much more fun/productive than 45 minutes on the treadmill and it seems to be doing the trick. Mother natures here so she better get her hot ass packed up by next mondays weigh in. Im up to over 25 pounds loss now and am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!! Its a faint light, but its a little bit of motivation that potentially I CAN reach the goal of being in better shape and more happy with my image. next mini goal.. find my 80s outfit for sure! I have a couple ideas adn a couple things but I havent found that one OMG! Like totally awesome 80s outfit;) Id best get to the sal army sometime soon. So wahts your vote?? We are on teh fence between having the party bus pick us all up OR putting that money towards an 80s band to be here playing in the heated tent.
Im sorta swinging towards band now cause I dont need a bus to take me to bars to drink...as im sure we will have loads of drinkable things here already.. but then again the purple hoopty bus would be hilarious. I dont know.. I cant decide. You decide for me!!

Or if you have any ideas on what I should wear.. Im soo open to suggestions :)

I have exactly 50 days to keep on keepin on till the partay. And 57 till the big dreaded 30. (ugh) Even when I type it I just hear the toll of big somber bells.
Must. chin. up.

Have a good day loves. Im off to my laundry abyss.