Shrink for Good Parade of Cans

Get a load of my cans!


Our last challenge at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans revolved around Weight Watchers' Lose for Good campaign. We named our challenge (most appropriately) Shrink for Good! The premise was for every pound lost, we would donate a pound of non-perishable items to our local food banks. In conjunction with this, Weight Watchers committed to donating $1 million to help fight childhood hunger.

Let's just say we're all shrinkers and our local food banks are growing, for good.

Personally, I only lost 3.6 pounds during our challenge, but I did commit to donating 100 pounds of food, no matter how much I lost.

This is a picture of 50 pounds of my donation. Yes, I sat down with a calculator and tallied up all the ounces after figuring out my scales wouldn't cooperate and weigh my stuff for me! This 50 pounds is also representative of all the weight I've lost since I started this journey 3 1/2 years (and a baby!) ago. WOW.

I will be stopping at the grocery store tonight to pick up the rest of my food donation, and I'll be dropping it all off later this week, so come back and check out the rest of my cans, m'kay?

And if you feel so inclined, sift through your pantry today and pull out some cans for YOUR local food bank. Somewhere there's a child who might be so grateful you took the time.

OH! I almost forgot!!

Last week: 142.6
This week: 141.2
Loss: 1.4 pounds WOOT!!!!

I thought you should know

We're not quite home, but almost! We leave Atlanta this afternoon, on a plane bound for San Antonio. As fun as this trip has been (and there will be more details and lots of photos from our time in Tennessee!), I am SO ready to be home. So ready.


I just wanted to quickly post about something, that I believe, deserves it's own post!


While in Austin a few weeks back, I borrowed Lisa's ERGObaby carrier. All I can say is that I'm in love. Seriously, I don't ever want to give it back, but I know I have to.


My point is to let you know about this wonderful carrier. If you have a baby, you should most definiltey have one. If you have a toddler, you should have one.


I've worn Mia almost the enitre time we've been on vacation. The airport would not have been possible without it. Seriously. With BJ, 2 suitcases, and a backpack, I don't know how I would have made it.

Countless strangers have commented on the obvious benefits of having my daughter securely attached to my chest or back. I don't think we could have even dreamed about doing the Atlanta Aquarium without the Ergo. There is no way I could have kept up with her if she had been on foot, and strollers were just not feasible because of the insane crowds. There is no way I would have felt as safe as I did if she had not been right there with me.

Also, it was so nice to be so close to her, so much of the time. I truly got to experience every new site and sound through her eyes. That, my friends, was priceless.




Also, my back does not hurt, nor did it ever hurt when using the ERGO. No Motrin needed, promise. And, there is a handy pocket on the front that fits my wallet, keys, AND Blackberry. Seriously. I might not give it back to Lisa. Shhhhh. Don't tell her.

So tell me, if you wear a baby (Steph, I'm talking to you!), is it worth it to buy an ERGObaby carrier now? Mia is approaching 2, and I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to wear her, or how long she'll want to be worn. Does anyone have a gently used one they want to sell?

More on the Tennessee leg of our trip after we get home and sleep for 285 years.

**No one paid me to write this post. No one asked me to endorse this product. I did not get anything for free (although I am not opposed to receiving things for free in exchange for honest reviews). I did it because it's something I believe YOU should know about. That is all.**

Alice.com anyone?

Remember the Brady Bunch? OMG, I watched it religiously when I was growing up. I always wished I had an Alice to cook me dinner and wash my clothes and make me ice packs for my swollen nose when I got hit with the football.

So I came across a site called Alice.com, and it seems almost too good to be true. Household items delivered to my door, free of charge? Ha! For this girl who lives 75 miles from the nearest Super Store, Alice does seem like a dream come true. The site is really spiffy, too. So I'm going to try it out!

Have you tried Alice.com? If you have, leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Sweet innocence

I was sitting on the front porch tonight enjoying the breeze, the stars, and the peace and quiet. It was a long day at the real life house. The kids were crazy and all I could think about was "what the hell are we going to do to fill all the days this summer."

For real.

So as I was sitting on the front porch, I noticed BJ's bug box on the ottoman. He captured a gigantic grasshopper yesterday and this afternoon I told him he needed to release him so he didn't starve to death. Poor boy gets SO attached to creatures great and small, that I ususally have to let them out when he's sleeping and feign ignorance the next day. As I opened the door of the bug box, I caught a glimpse of the meal BJ provided for his beloved grasshopper. A capful of water and 6 Hershey's Kisses.

That's my boy. I love his sweet innocence so much.

Distracted

Ba ba ba bum, ba ba ba bum. The antelope alarm on my blackberry sings a gentle tune to rouse me from sleep. Sleep is the only time I'm not distracted, although I can't prove that I'm not distracted while I sleep. Maybe I am, and not being able to remember is just a little gift from the Universe, from God.

I am distracted by myself. I am distracted by the kids, the husband, the phone, the scales, the computer, the laundry, the dust on my blinds, the clock, the schedule, the garden I need to weed, the blogs, the view from my windows, the Tivo, the kisses from my daugher, the questions from my son, the dirt on the floor, the books sitting unread on my shelf, the scrapbook I haven't worked on in ages, the bar that will open soon, the field trips, the obligations, the mail on the counter. There are so many things I need to do, so many things I want to do, but I seem to get lost in the to do list, and at the end of the day, I have so many things half done, or almost done, or just barely started, or not done at all. And there are so many things that never even made the list.

I do finish things, but it never seems to be enough.

I think I need a distraction from all of my distractions.

Maybe I should sleep more.

It's not like this everyday, or every week. Some days are great and I manage to stay on top of the myriad tasks I need to accomplish. Those are good days. Days when I pat myself on the back, when lie in bed at night and my brain is not racing.

I want to be one of those moms who has everything together, who gets everything done, who isn't frazzled by distractions.

Do they even exist?

Can you tell me how to be one of them?

Liar, liar. Pants on fire.

Boy, I'll tell you. BJ, my newly 5 year old sweetheart, is coming into his own as a master teller of fantabulous fibs. Seriously. The boy has always had a crazy-wonderful imagination, but it's gotten even wilder in the last few weeks.

Last night, in his most seriously manner, he told me he'd snuck out the previous night and seen white tail deer, in our driveway wearing Mexican hats and scarves. Seriously. He was for real. I prodded with the usual, "are you serious or are you just pulling my leg?" He came back with, "YES, mommy. I'm just jokin' around. Deer don't wear hats!"'

On a not-so-cute note, last week he left his folder at school. I checked his bag for his folder which contains his calendar. The calendar that he gets happy faces on everyday because he's such a great kid. Well, said folder was missing and I didn't think twice about it. I asked if he'd gotten his usual happy face and he assured me he did. The next day when I picked him up, his teacher pulled me aside to mention the fact that BJ had conveniently left his folder at school. The folder that contains the calendar with all the happy faces. Only, it had a sad face. And the word LYING written under it. Yup. My boy. He's a liar. Times 2. He got into a tug of war over a toy and when the teacher sat him and the other student down to ask who had it first, both claimed initial ownership. Eventually my boy admitted he didn't have the toy first, after all.

Now this is the part where I disagree with the teacher and how she handled the situation. Keep in mind that I totally backed her up in front of BJ, because I didn't want to undermine her 22 years of teachin' au-thor-i-ti. Having said that, I don't think this little foray into lying really warranted the unhappy face. I mean, come on, he admitted he lied. Isn't that half the battle, or something like that? I would have given him some positive reinforcement like chocolate and hugs or something. Okay, maybe not candy, but still, I don't think I would have punished him. But whatevs.

So he also lied to me. He sneakily left his folder at school and then told me he'd gotten a happy face. BIG FAT LIE. So his punishment was no outside play and no Magic School Bus for the day. I think it was pretty just punishment. He was pretty upset about it.

Lately, I've caught him in the middle of telling several little white lies. I always ask him if he's telling the truth and he'll readily admit he's not.....So I understand that this is the age when kids start making up stories and fibbing. Where does it come from? Does some magic switch get flipped at the stroke of midnight on the eve of the 5th birthday? What do you do about it? I know that pretend play and imagination are important to kids at this age, but how do you help them differentiate between lies and imagination? Good and bad? Acceptable and unacceptable?

Does this look like a face that would lie?!!! Nah, I didn't think so!

Ready or not?

I know I'm probably overreacting, but my heart is a little sad tonight. Today I had an amazing day with new friends; moms of BJ's classmates at the Divide School. After all the kids were dropped off at school, we headed back to one mom's home for some girl time. It was great and so good for my soul. Since BJ's been in school, I've been very lonely during the day. It's not that I don't have plenty to occupy my time. I do. I have a beautiful 9 month old daughter, a thriving business, a home (that always needs to be cleaned). I have so much. But I'm still lonely. I miss my son. I miss the constant, non-stop, exhausting banter. His laugh. His hugs. I miss it all.

I've been doubting our decision to let him attend the Divide School. Not necessarily doubting the Pre-K, 8:30 to 12:30 gig, but the afternoon Kindergarten part. Maybe I haven't mentioned the last part here; BJ stays over in the afternoons to join the kindergarten class. When the idea was presented to us, we were thrilled. You see, BJ is almost 5. He missed the cutoff for kindergarten by 23 days (Texas schools require a child to 5 by 9/1 in order to attend K), but I was so sure he was ready for K this year. Was.

Today BJ was sent home with an unhappy face stamp in his folder, and the dreaded note from the teacher. The note that said BJ was not good today. He hit, pushed and pinched the girls in his class. He picked up a chair above his head and pushed it into the head of another child. He was put in time out for 15 minutes and according to the teacher, "was not too upset about it."

Not too upset about it? This is not typical behavior for BJ. At all. He's generally a very sweet and caring child. A little energetic and talkative, yes, but not unkind. I always expected to have the parent/teacher conferences about his mouth that never seems to close or his silly behavior. I was the same way as a child. More than I care to admit!

So I could totally be making way too much of this one incident. Or not. The fact that I already feel guilty and sad and lonely without my sweet boy here with me doesn't make it any better. All night I've been wondering if this is his way of saying "hey, I'm not ready for this yet." Is he just now realizing that this is his new normal and he's rebelling a little? I don't know. Maybe I'm just over analyzing, which I tend to do, on a regular basis.

I did talk about it with BJ. He owned up to everything. Pretty much told me word for word what his teacher had written. No denial at all. When I asked him why he did it, he wasn't sure. I asked him if he thought it was wrong and he said yes. He did say he was very sorry. So who knows, maybe this is it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I do plan to talk to his teacher tomorrow and find out if he's been having any other issues. I worry that he's been acting out and it finally came to a head today (for his teacher).

I think it all boils down to the fact that I feel like I've failed just a little bit. I know I haven't really. He's only 4, almost 5, and I need to remember that. And if he's not ready (or it turns out I'm not ready for him) to be in school all day, then we'll just stick with the a.m. Pre-K for now. Until he's ready. And I'm ready.

Stay tuned.