Daily Motivation...(you HAVE to see this)

Maybe I should do this every morning before work. Can't hurt, right? :)

I like myself!

*Props to my sister Kimberly for introducing me to this.

Preview of our FAMILY FALL PICTURES!

Here is a one picture preview of the fall pictures that were taken by Austin Kilcullen. I am so pleased with his work, and I am so fortunate to have him record these memories for my family, and hopefully will continue to do so for years to come!

So without further adieu...

Are you following me?

Sometimes I feel like I'm writing, and very few people are reading. Or is it that they are reading, but just not commenting? Yeah, I'm fairly new to this whole blogging thing.

Give me feedback people, or I will sick my rabid dog on you. (Ok, so I don't have a rabid dog per say, but I do have a very hyper one.)

So for those of you reading, thank you! If you have any topics you'd like me to cover, or any challenges to throw my way, bring it on!

To the rest of you...follow me!

FOOD is not the Enemy...my addiction to it is.

Yeah, you heard me right. I. AM. ADDICTED. TO. FOOD.

I use it as a way to cope with my emotions, to celebrate, to wallow in self-pity, to quash boredom...

You name it, I use food to deal with it.

I'm gonna get real honest here and say that I constantly think about food, what my next meal will be, and when the next celebration will be that I can go out and eat. Does that make me crazy? Only if 43% of America is too.

Here's some scary statistics on Emotional Eating:

• One in every 100 women in the US is a victim of compulsive eating
• 5-20% of all college-going women have eating disorders
• One in three of all the dieters in the world develop compulsive eating disorders over the course of a few years
• Americans are spending more than $150 million on products relating to weight loss. Interestingly, most of these products have no medical backing and little to show by way of proven results.

http://www.emotionaleatingsolution.com/compulsive-eating-statistics.html

Scary huh? Here are some questions to ask yourself if you too, think you are addicted to food:

• Do you eat when you are not hungry or when you feel low or depressed?

• Do you eat in secret or eat differently in front of others than when you’re alone?

• Do you consume inordinate amounts of food and then purge later with vomiting or laxatives to get rid of the excess?

• Are there foods that are harmful to you, but you eat them anyway?

• Do you feel guilty after eating?

Is it sad that I answered yes to some of those questions? Yes. Is it better than I realize this, and am admitting it? Yes. But only if I do something about it. That means that whenever I look at a big fat cheeseburger, I need to see the heart attack.  When I see a bag of candy or a bar of chocolate, I need to see my children running ahead of me, and there I am collapsed on the ground. I realize that it's a bit of a stretch to put such graphic images in my head when looking at food, but I think it's necessary. Now, I'm not saying that you can never treat yourself or enjoy food. Food is meant to be enjoyed. However, you have to know how to choose the right foods to enjoy, and to do it with a happy heart. All the while knowing that you are consciously making the decision to turn down foods that are bad for you in exchange for a happy, healthy life. 

Like I said on Facebook, I'm doing this for me, but even more so for my family. I want to see my children get married and have children of their own. I want to sit in a rocking chair side-by-side with my husband when I'm old and grey. I want to live. If I continue on the path I've been on , my quality of life will suffer, and most likely my lifespan will too.

It's a battle. I will struggle every single day for the rest of my life. One day at time, right?

Thank you for allowing me to be completely open and honest, with no judgement. I leave you with this:

"The journey is the destination"

Goin' for a Walk, Mommy!

The Hatchlings class at The Red Barn goes for walk in a quadruple stroller (don't know what else to call it, it seats four. Whatever.) everyday if the weather is nice enough.

Ava just loves it. They say she is either smiley the whole time, or she falls asleep. Isn't that the life though? Layin' back, getting pushed around in beautiful weather? I'd be happy as a lark too.

 I just thought I would share a picture of her from after yesterday's walk...

(P.S. Check out those baby blues!)

Brother/Sisterly Love

Don't you think so? This is how she shows her love right now...pulling on his hair :)

Today's Ryan-ism

The other morning, Ava was playing in her bouncy seat, and getting adventurous.  Instead of just sitting correctly and playing with the plastic keys I had given her, she proceeded to twist her body around and half of her body was sticking over the side and she was straining her neck to see what was going on...(it's real cute, by the way)

So I go in there and playfully get on to her.

Me: "Ava Layne! Sit down in your chair, you silly girl!"

Ryan: (from the kitchen, while eating his breakfast) "She's just not respecting me, and she's not respecting you."

What?! Hahahaha. Oh, the things kids say.

The Dancing Sisters!

Man, these were the days. I wanted to share these because I miss dancing, and I'm feeling nostalgic. And gosh darn it, we're so cute! My sister Lora is in the white dress with the princess crown, Kimberly is in the fantastic PINK polka dotted tutu, and I'm in my favorite costume ever....the duck! (Emily, I don't even think you were here at this point. If you were, you were a wee babe, so don't feel left out---Love you!)

Enjoy!

I love you too, sweetheart.

Today's Ryan-ism

Last week, it was a day like every other.  I took Ryan to his before/after school care, and I dropped him off in his class.  I took Ava to her class, and as I walked back to my car I saw Ryan lining up with the rest of his class to get ready for the bus to come.  He already doesn't like to hug or kiss me in front of his friends (sad, I know) so instead of going up to him, I blew him a kiss from my car. He saw me, caught the kiss, and threw "it" down.  His friends were watching and giggled, because he was oh-so-cool for throwing his mommy's kiss on the ground. I laughed and then I frowned, jokingly. (Inside, I was crying!)  Well when we got home that night, I asked him why he threw my kiss away.

Ryan: "I didn't throw it away Mommy, I threw it in my heart."

That boy sure knows how to turn a sad situation into one that melts my heart. How could I be upset after that?

Weight Watchers Meetings vs. Weight Watchers Online

Sadly, I had to stop going to my weekly Weight Watchers meeting awhile back because Stephen's classes this semester were on Tuesday and Thursday nights. My regular meeting is at 6:30pm on Tuesday night, and since I have both kids, it's impossible. I hear you already: "Why don't you just take the kids with you?" Well, on Tuesdays, my mom picks up Ryan and takes him to swimming lessons and then to football practice until 7:30pm. Okay, so at this point, I only have Ava. Yeah, Yeah: "If you only have her, why don't you just take her with you?" Because her bedtime is 7pm. Call me crazy, and maybe I am, but I believe in having my kids in bed every night at the same time whenever humanly possible. I don't like to drag them around places for things that I want to do, especially when it interferes with their bedtimes.  I suppose that's why I don't go out much or do things at night, because I'm at home, with my kids in bed. I guess I'm old-fashioned that way, thinking that my place is at home with my family...

Anyhow, back to the subject at hand. Since I've had to give up my Tuesday meetings, my weight has suffered. Yes, I can follow the Weight Watchers plan on my own, but the support, recognition, and tips that I get from my meetings are what really drives me to greatness.  So as a result, I've actually gained back a bit of my weight. I truly believe that accountability is a HUGE part of weight loss.  I am so incredibly lucky to have Brigitte at work that is joining me on this journey. We are both following the Weight Watchers plan, and are doing excellent so far. But, I need that extra little push.

So, if I did WW online, I could track my weight, points, measurements, etc... They also have an online community that I could become a part of, and talk with folks like me, everyday. I already spend most of my day on a computer, so this just might be ideal.  However, I wouldn't get my "5 lb stickers" or my "10% key chain", and so forth. It may sounds dumb and so grade-school-ish, but I like being rewarded with WOW stickers every week for something that I did (or a food that I turned down).

I want this to be the LAST time that I START to lose weight. I just need to figure out which way to go.

"Lose for Good"...that's Weight Watchers motto, and now it's mine too.

Oh, honey.

How I love you...

Uh oh.

I've been drinking a little bit of Diet Coke lately, because I told myself that if I went out to eat, I would NOT get regular sprite if they didn't have Diet Mt.Dew or Sprite Zero. So since I wanted something with taste, I've been ordering Diet Coke. Now, since I had Ava, Diet Coke has tasted nasty to me. So I swore it off, only sticking to water, FF milk, Sprite Zero, and Diet Mt. Dew.

But...

Now it tastes kinda good.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Today's Ryan-ism

Ryan, Ava and I headed out on Sunday to go to Ryan's football game. This was after church, so we didn't have time to do anything for lunch besides stop at a drive-thru.  McDonald's was the closest and there was no line, so I ordered him a Happy Meal with a hamburger, apples, and Powerade.  The woman over the speaker asked me, "Is this for a boy or girl?" I of course answered, "Boy." So we got up to the window and I paid and then got his food at the next window.  I passed it back to him, and he immediately got a disgusted look on his face as he opened his bag.

Ryan: "They gave me a girl toy! What am I supposed to do with this?"

Me: (laughing) "I don't know, Ryan. I guess you can give it Ava when she gets older."

Ryan: "Great JOB McDonald's. I didn't want a girl toy, I wanted a BOY toy."

Today's Ryan-ism

This morning, I told Ryan to please go comb his hair. I heard "Ugh!" from the bathroom, and he comes into the kitchen.

Ryan:  "Mommy! I can't stand this house! It doesn't do what I want it to!" 

Me: "What are you talking about?"

Ryan: "If this doesn't quit, I'm moving."

Me: "And just where do you think you're going to be moving to?"

Ryan: "Grandma's."

Hahahaha.

**I still have no idea what he was talking about.**