One change at a time

Everyone that has known me for any length of time is aware that I have a weight problem. I have for the majority of my life and even when I was at my smallest in my adult life I was still "overweight." The only time I have been in the "healthy" weight category I was a child. So I made a decision a few months ago that I felt would help with this issue a little and it has.

I had been telling Wayne for a while that I just couldn't seem to control myself when we went to his mom's for Sunday lunch. There was always so much good stuff to choose from and I would eat and eat until I was over stuffed. Then I would lose what I gained that day during the week and then start the cycle all over again on Sunday.

Now we only go over once or twice a month and it has been helpful in my weight loss. I felt bad in the beginning because I worried that the change wouldn't really help and I would find another excuse as to why my weight wasn't coming off. I am glad this has worked and I am only a few pounds shy of having lost 20 lbs. since the change. It also makes going over to Grandma's more special. The kids thoroughly look forward to being there with their Grandma and cousins.

In addition to this, I have recently joined a weight loss group and hope that it will continue to help. I've seen improvements so far. So I'm off to a good start.

February happenings in the middle of March

Since everyone has been waiting for an update, here is the February update (in March...I know). There was a lot that went on.

First off, there was the birthday celebration for Wayne and Bruce. Wayne requested a very chocolatey fudge cake that his brother and sister-in-law made and then I made little Batman cupcakes for Bruce. The Batman logos didn't come out the best, but still tasted yummy.
Just a couple days after the birthday party Cali lost her first tooth. She was crying and VERY upset that it was loose, but once she was told that she'd get money from the tooth fairy she was pretty excited about losing her tooth. It fell out during lunch at school (she was eating strawberry shortcake). Her teachers were good about getting it in a safe place. Here is her new smile up until two days ago when she lost her second tooth.

We also got the chance to help Ian with his first Pinewood Derby car. It was a learning experience and as Wayne puts it "a time of growth." The car didn't win one race, but Ian was excited anyway. There were a lot of things that we learned like, don't wait until 4 days before to cut it out and start painting it. I think Wayne said he wanted to buy a few different Pinewood Derby kits to perfect his design skills. (Ian's car is the black and silver one. It's interesting to say the least.)

Two new gadgets that make me happy

The other day I broke down and bought an electric grain mill and a hand mill. Wayne and I have been gradually storing grains as a part of our food storage. Eventually we would like to have a year's supply, but for now we are in the process of learning to use the stuff that we have accumulated so far. Well, here are the mills that I got....
The top one is the Wondermill Jr. Deluxe. It took FOREVER to get both sets of burrs ready for use, but I plan on trying my hand at some homemade nut butters in the future. For now I am loving my new electric Wondermill. The flour is so much tastier fresh than bought from a store. Here is to a little more wholesomeness to our diet.

Wayne's Bag of Crap

On Woot.com it is a big deal to get a bag of crap. When they come up they go extremely quickly. This is Wayne's third time getting a bag of crap and it was especially crappy this time. He got three city art newsletters for the city of Bellview from 1995, a Star Trek memories 4 cassette on tape (copyrighted in 1993), Ultimotion, Micky Mouse band-aids, some orange things that we are trying to figure out what they are, and a small tote bag.

Taking it down a notch

This is our newest member exploring ever nook and cranny. She seems to have finally explored everything...maybe.

Here is a picture from the other night when we had spaghetti. Bruce loved it.

Presentpalooza

December is a time for presents and for our family it is even more so because of Cali's birthday. So Here is a recap of the month...

The first week of December the kids had field trips to a local show here called Toyland. I couldn't attend with Ian but got to go with Cali's class. All the kids seemed to enjoy it. Here is Cali's class picture after the show...Bruce even enjoyed it.

The following week was gearing up for Cali's birthday weekend. She had a birthday party with friends at Forrest Jumps (indoor inflated play areas). She was all Hello Kitty. One of the parents came and said that her son went to go pick out a gift for Cali and told his Mom that it had to be Hello Kitty eventually he picked out a doll for her and Cali loved it just as much as the Hello Kitty stuff.
The next day was her birthday party with the family at Grandma's where she got even more Hello Kitty items, plus the ones we gave her at home.
The third week was spent finishing up those last minute presents and making sure cards were sent out to family and friends. I still don't understand where all my time goes now. There were also class parties and Christmas presentations.

Ian's 2nd grade class did a play and I was impressed by how well he did.
The week leading up to Christmas we got a Little People Nativity set. I have several Nativities throughout the house and the kids want to play with them so this was the solution I came up with get something that all the kids could play with and learn about the Nativity story without constantly saying "Don't drop it!" or "Please leave it alone."
On Christmas Eve we went over to Wayne's Dad's house to have Christmas breakfast there (since Christmas fell on a Sunday...so it wouldn't interfere with church). Afterwards we went to go hike the TVA trails with Andy, Rheanna and Brandt. The kids loved it and we got some good pictures of the kids.
That night we opened presents and everyone seemed to really enjoy their gifts. Ian's highlight was getting a nerf tag set. It was a huge hit with everyone. Cali got lots of clothes and so did Wayne. I got everything I wanted (I guess it pays to be in charge of the shopping). The next morning the kids woke up to what Wayne and I deemed the "Special Presents". Then we went to church came home and played a little bit then went up to have Christmas at Grandma's. The highlight for everyone was Bruce's Batcave. When Pat had asked what she could get for Bruce I told her the best thing for him would be a big box...and so that is what she did. It has been a huge success. Here is Bruce in his Batman onesie he got from Leanna and Brad. It's just too adorable.

Christmas tree is trimmed

We finally have everything up for Christmas. We did have our Christmas lights up on the house the weekend after Thanksgiving. Wayne allowed it because we had his brother's ladder, but the lights were not turned on until December 1st.
The kids really enjoyed putting decorations on the Christmas tree. I love that our tree is a hodgpodge of ornaments made by the kids. Soon we won't be putting any glass balls up because it will be slam packed with the kid's stuff. I'm cool with that. I think it adds a lot of character to the tree, plus the kids get such a kick out of pulling their ornaments out and hanging them up.

Bruce thought the lights were great and Lilly Cat has only been up in the tree a few times. Good times are had by all now.