Another Success

I hit a big milestone at WW yesterday. I've lost 10% of my starting weight. I've now shed a total of 25.6 lbs, 20.6 with WW! This key ring is my reward and when I get to other milestones I'll receive charms to attach.

This has been such a beneficial program for me and I have appreciated all that have encouraged and helped me through this process. I want to be healthy, active and teach my children the importance of doing so.

I share with all of you my experiences so that it may possibly inspire. I've had ups and downs. Good weeks and bad weeks. I'm finding that I wouldn't be where I'm at as quickly as I've gotten here without the love and support of others and also exercise. That's the big one...EXERCISE! I believe it is the key to the successes I'm achieving. I'm making it a habit that will hopefully stick!

I'm also including my experiences for me personally. This is a big life changing experience I'm going through at this time in my life. It's a major part of my life and something that I struggle to find time doing with young children to take care of and spend quality time with. Oh, and the husband too! I don't have a lot of extra time on my hands at this time in my life and I'm forever grateful to my dear husband for his willingness to change up his schedule and do a little extra in order for me to do something for myself.

The difficulty I'm finding this week is that Tom started coaching high school basketball and hasn't gotten home until 9:30 or later in the evenings. He assures me that practices won't be as late once the volleyball season is finished. It's been a struggle to find the energy to head to the gym that late but once I finish my workout I always feel so much better! I'm actually pretty dang proud of myself for not letting this be a reason for me to take a break. I'm afraid that if I do so then I will start letting other things slide and I don't want that to happen!

Next mini goal - lose 7 more lbs to be at the top of the healthy range for my height. Then my ultimate goal of somewhere in the middle of my healthy range.

My progress chart so far.

My Milestones

Key:
5 POUNDS 5 POUNDS ADD'L 10% GOAL

WEIGHT WATCHERS MEETINGS
ANOTHER LOCATION

Fall Soccer

The last two Saturdays of September and four Saturdays in October we spent watching Jayni play soccer for the first time on a team. Here she is on her first day getting a pep talk from their coach. We were really lucky to have a good coach that showed up every game. Most teams didn't have consistent coaches. I also think this is the only day that all 6 kids showed up on the same day.

I really can't say we watched her "play". She did a lot of this...

...and my personal favorite, a lot of that.

Mason would do this...

...and then that. Aren't these guys handsome?

But at the last game, Jayni was doing a little of this...

...and some of that.

Jayni's coach really tried to get her to score a goal the last game. She was scared when there would be a group around the ball. She had many opportunities that game to kick in a goal but was too scared. I'm not quite sure if soccer is her sport yet. She did do a lot of dancing and cheering though, sorry Tom!

Layer by Layer & Wind Turbines

I just have to share my excitement! I've lost a total of 22.8 lbs since deciding to be a healthier me (17.8 lbs since joining WW). Just over half of my goal.

I had my Weight Watchers meeting today and lost another 3.6 lbs. The most I've lost in a single week since joining! I was really excited and I'm having a hard time controlling it. I really feel amazing!! I had somewhat disappointing results the last couple weeks. Both losses but not really great ones. The first week Tom was out of town for business so I wasn't able to do too much and the second week was Halloween and that candy was just too tempting!!

I joined a gym a month ago and I really enjoy going. It's definitely helping to obtain my weight loss goal. It's also helped relieve stress and I feel so much healthier. I've been going in the evenings for 1-1.5 hours, 5-6 days a week. It's become my ME time. I think part of the reason I enjoy it so much is because all the cardio equipment have individual televisions so I'm able to enjoy my shows still and not worry about missing them. I'm a huge TV junkie!! But really it helps keep my mind off of the exercising part.

Thank you Tom for the email today! I really appreciate your words of encouragement and all the support you give to me.

As I was driving home from WW, I decided to drive up into the hills to get a closer look at the wind turbines above our house. Tom has taken the kids up there a couple times and Jayni loves it. I haven't been up there before and was a little curious so we made the drive.

Jayni didn't really want to get out of the car but Mason was all for some pictures so I was playing around with my camera and these are a few cute pictures.

The view from up there was amazing. This picture definitely doesn't do it justice.

Healthy Here I Come

I've always been a skinny girl. Growing up, through high school, even when I got married. In high school I was teased for having "chicken legs" and that my elbows were way too bony. Having children definitely changed that. I can't eat like I used to anymore. I never realized how fluffy I was getting until I got back from England and saw a picture of myself. I didn't feel like I looked - I'm tall and I felt I didn't look like I weighed too much and that my height helped balance things out. I've heard that people who have always been overweight and lose mass amounts of weight, still feel heavy. I have the opposite thought - I gained but still feel skinny.

I knew my body had changed after having kids, especially after Mason. I grew to measure 42 weeks pregnant in 22 weeks until they realized I had excess amniotic fluid. Let's say that expanding that quickly didn't help my stomach. I have mass amounts of stretch marks and after I had Mason I had excess saggy skin. I figured no big deal, I don't show my belly in public anyway. And it tucked right into my pants! Price of having babies, right? It was worth it!

Needless to say I gained about 30 lbs after having Mason. Being away from home in a different country was stressful, I was no longer working, and I was at home all day with the kids. I tended to eat! Every craving was satisfied!!

As you know I made a goal at the beginning of June to "Work It Out". Well the busyness of Summer didn't help and I didn't find myself staying very motivated. I knew I needed to change my eating habits too but I didn't know how. Like I said before, I used to be able to eat whatever and I never had to limit myself either. I tried talking Tom into letting me join Weight Watchers after knowing others around me who had success. Tom said he wanted me to show a commitment to exercising first because he didn't want it to be a waste of money if I really wasn't committed to changing. I could understand that - $40 a month is a lot for us right now. Well, I gave up and ended up gaining a little more and became the heaviest I've ever been, topping the scales at 206.6 lbs - 14 lbs more than when I was first back from England. That's about 52 lbs since the day I was married!

The last week of August I did what I could and was able to lose 5 lbs. Over Labor Day weekend we went to a lake cabin for Tom's family reunion and I found out that two family members were talking  about joining  Weight Watchers. I talked to Tom about it and on Tuesday, September 2nd I joined...

...along with two family members. I love it! It's giving me a new look at what I eat. I write down what I eat during the day and doing that makes me think about what I'm putting in my mouth. I still eat the things I love, I just have to pay attention to certain things and pay attention to the portion size. I thought I would feel hungry being on a "diet" but I really don't feel like it's been a diet. It's just thinking and paying attention to what I'm eating.

I'm not doing this to try to lose all the weight I've gained since being married. I really don't care if I weigh 180 lbs, I just want to feel like I'm doing all I can to be healthy so I don't die at an early age. I was borderline high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I needed to make a change.

I have also started being more active. I do a walk/run for an hour two days a week and I just started a Pilates class last Wednesday. I enjoy it and I feel less stress and I don't feel as depressed since I'm getting out of the house and doing something for me.

With the 5 lbs I lost the week before joining, and what I've lost since, I've lost a total of 12.8 lbs! I feel quite accomplished in a month's time!

I have great support and I feel comfortable talking about weight now. Tom has been very supportive and has made sure that I can have plenty of time to do my "activities" before it gets dark. He keeps telling me he's surprised at how dedicated I am. I guess he thinks I'm a quitter! HAHA!! I appreciate all the support I'm getting and thank you to those who are helping me and asking me how things are going. It helps me stay motivated!!!

Just for me and looking back someday I want to share a quick story about Jayni. My Mom, Jayni and I were standing in my Mom's kitchen. All of a sudden, Jayni came up and jabbing at my belly, said, "BOINK, BOINK". We died laughing. It really was quite amusing.

Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo

August 2008 Catch Up

On Saturday, August 16th the kick off to the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo began. They have the Grand Parade every year but did the 1st Annual 5k Rodeo Run which was before the parade. I decided I wanted to sign up but would only do it if my dear husband would. He agreed and we did it! It was the start of some changes in my life that I'll post more about later.

The last run I participated in was the Cherry Blossom Run in George, Washington on a 4th of July when I was 15 or 16. I took 1st in my division. Of course that was only because my cousin, Heather had placed 1st of all the participants and since she got a medal for that, I was fortunate enough to get the 1st place medal in my division.

I am a silent competitor. My only goal was to not finish last and I didn't! Tom pushed the kids in the stroller and let me go ahead. I wasn't that much quicker than him though and we ended up finishing at the same time. My most rewarding moment was when he took a shortcut down a street so he and the kids could cheer me on when I passed by. Jayni seemed so excited and it made me work harder.

Well the outcome wasn't as amazing as it had been 12 or so years ago but it was an accomplishment for me. In the 6+ years I've been married I've gained a little over 50 lbs. and I carried that junk to the finish line in 37 minutes 33 seconds. I thought that was pretty amazing to accomplish a little over 3 miles since I didn't practice beforehand! Here's Tom & I in all our glory afterwards waiting for the parade to start.

On Wednesday, August 20th I took the kids to the fair for Kid's Day even though it was raining and a little cold. I can handle that way more than a scorcher like the day we went to Grant County Fair. We were only there for a couple hours and the first thing we did was go to the library's booth and the kids both won books. By the booth was a stage that was about to perform a show with the help of children. Jayni was lucky enough to participate. She was so cute and I have a video of her whole two minute performance. Unfortunately it's too large to post! Boohoo!!

We finished out the day with watching some of the animals being judged (Jayni insisted), going through the animal barns, and having lunch. We then went home for naps!

On Saturday, August 23rd we returned to have family day. Jayni did the tractor pull again, saw our neighbor's pigs, and then got our wristbands for the rides. We're lucky enough that Tom's grandparents help with the fair because we were able to ride the rides free. Thank you Grandpa & Grandma Underwood!! We had a great time riding the rides.

I love this sequence of pictures. Whenever Mason's scared he covers his ears. It's so cute! I also love the look of terror on his face in the last one.

As you can see from these next pictures Mason was still a little scared but finally got a little more comfortable and the hands came down.

After the rides we took the kids home to have naps. We returned for the rodeo that night but didn't stay long because the close proximity with a can't-stay-still boy wasn't working. We walked around a bit more and then headed home. It was a fun day and created great memories!

Grant County Fair

August 2008 Catch Up

To kick off this year's county fair adventures, Jayni, Mason, and I headed to Moses Lake to spend time with my Mom and to watch my little sister, Kathryn clog. I also HAD to have a Grant County Fair Spaceburger! I hadn't had one for about 4 or 5 years and I was desperate this year to get one.

Well, it so happened that that day it was SO hot. It kinda took the desire for some yummy fair food away. We did seek out the sno-cone booth immediately and met up with my brother Milo, sister-in-law Melanie, and their kids and walked around enjoying those. Eventually we ended up eating dinner and a big drink and Spaceburger was about all I could handle. The kids wanted to do the tractor pull and so we waited for that to start.

Jayni

Dane

Kathryn & Nathan

We then watched Kathryn clog and I saw my little brother Jason and his new bride Cassie. We also caught up with Pop then too.

After clogging we took the kids around the animal barns. My past farming experiences caught up with me and I saved a cow. HAHA! It was tied up in the barn and it's leg was caught in the rope. When my Mom and I walked by she said she was too scared to help the cow and said she knew I could do it. There were others just standing there staring at the helpless cow so I "took the bull by the horns" and helped get the cow's leg untangled. The embarrassing part for me was my Mom clapping afterwards and the other people staring. My Mom said she couldn't believe I did it and I told her that I was surprised that someone who was there before us didn't help out first. I'm definitely not an animal lover but if I see they need something I'll make sure to help out.

We then met up with everyone one else and I'm not sure why we got separated but we finished going through the rest of the barns together. When we got to the goat barn there was a girl there holding a baby goat and letting the kids pet it. So here's Jayni doing the thing she loves - petting animals.

There was also a lady milking a goat and one of the kids asked if they could do it and she let them. Here's Jayni getting some milk from the goat.

Then Dane had a go while Kathryn and Jayni watched.

We stayed a little longer but since the heat was not fun to be in we left and the kids and I headed home after I bathed them and visited for awhile. Oh, and Milo and Melanie brought me a yummy funnel cake with chocolate that I enjoyed before leaving town. I hadn't had one before and it was quite delicious!

Mason's Recovery

I thought I'd give a little update on Mason's recovery. The day after surgery Mason was playing, jumping, laughing and up to his normal self for the most part. He was in some pain but we'd give him his pain medication and I think it was probably working a little too well. We had to try to make him relax so he wasn't overdoing things.

Here's the bandage that was put over Mason's belly button after his surgery. It's called a Tegaderm. It's a bandage that after 48 hours we were able to bathe Mason and water wouldn't leak into it. It also was tamper proof but Mason was playing with it the day after surgery so we decided to keep a onesie on him just in case. The Tegaderm peels itself away and after two weeks we could remove it unless it came off on its own after one week. If you notice the corners were peeling away, especially the top right.

Since it was peeling away this last Saturday, which was a week and a day after surgery, I decided to pull it off. For curiosity sake and also being a little paranoid that water could get into it since it was peeling so much. I took it off right after his bath and I thought it looked really good. The incision seemed nice a clean and it was healing really well.

This photo is from last Saturday...

...and this one is from today. The surgeon said there is a little excess skin but during surgery she decided wasn't enough to cut away. She said that as he grows it will become a little more natural looking. Sorry if these are a little graphic but I wanted to document them.

Just a random photo. I went in at about midnight last Sunday to check on the kids before going to bed and this is how I found them. I thought it was cute that they had fallen asleep next to each other on the floor.

I love my kids and I'm thankful that they are healthy and I'm especially thankful today, that Mason is doing really well. I knew I was probably stressing for nothing leading up to his surgery and the few days after, but it was worth it to see the outcome so much better then I expected. Thanks again for the many prayers and words of comfort. I know that without them I wouldn't have been able to get through these last few weeks and I know they benefited Mason in his recovery.

The Dreaded Day...

...actually went really smoothly. We arrived at the hospital a little before 8 am and got Mason checked in and about 5 minutes later the nurse came to get the process started.

We knew Mason was already a little scared so we had a drug called Versed administered to him to relieve his anxiety. It definitely put him in a happy state! We then spoke to the surgeon and then the anesthesiologist.

When it was time for him to be wheeled away, he didn't even have a bit of hesitation. I on the other hand shed some tears but for the most part I was a little more relaxed that morning than I had been the weeks prior.

Now for the pictures after the surgery. This is Mason right after. I really think he thought he was smiling. We have a few pictures and every time Tom took a picture and told Mason to smile he'd make this face.

The surgery went really quickly. We went to the cafeteria and had breakfast and then went back to the Pediatrics Surgery Center and it seemed we were only there for about 10 minutes before they came to get Tom and I when the surgery was done.

Mason seemed pretty out of it at first but then when I was holding him he started fussing and wiggling and so the nurse gave him some morphine. I think that what he really wanted was to have his IV taken out because he kept grabbing at it. She tried to administer another dose of morphine but Tom stopped her because he thought that was the problem too. The shift changed shortly after that and the other nurse took out the IV and he finally fell asleep. We then were discharged and on the road back to home by noon. I thought that was pretty good considering they took him away for surgery about 9:30 am.

Things went so much better than I expected. The night before I had a hard time because Mason was in bed with us and I believe he knew something was going on because he kept clinging his arms around my neck and saying mommy. Once he fell asleep I said a prayer and felt calmer but of course I didn't hardly sleep a wink.

Thanks to Chris and Lisa for allowing us to stay at their house the night before. We really appreciate your friendship and love you guys! Also thanks to my mommy, my mother in law Sharalyn, and Aunt Christi (Tom's sister) for making the drive over so early in the morning and spending time with us. It definitely helped calm our nerves! We love you all very much. Oh, and thank you Mom, for taking Jayni home with you and bringing her back on Saturday. It helped a bunch!! Also, thank you to all of you who checked on us and for all the many prayers, emails and phone calls. We truly are blessed with amazing family and friends!! We love you all!

The Day is Almost Here

So Mason's surgery is on Friday and I'm SO nervous. Last week I completely shutdown and didn't do anything around the house. I slept a lot and was pretty down thinking too much about the surgery and aftermath. This week I've kept myself busy so I don't think about it so much and have tried to prepare myself as much as possible. I'm scared though and hope everything goes smoothly.

Please keep us (especially Mason) in your prayers. He's my sweet boy and I can't imagine my life without him. He's brought me so much joy and I love him so very much.

I'm assuming the above picture was taken by Jayni. I found Mason with camera in hand one day last month and put it away. When I downloaded pictures onto my computer a few weeks later, I found pictures of Mason and lots of shots around the room.