Encounter With a Biter Biscuit

Sick AGAIN

Well, I went to the doctor this afternoon. I have a sinus infection, upper respiratory infection, ear infection AND bronchitis. I had to take an Albuterol breathing treatment in the office and got shots of Prednisone (steroid) and Rocefin (antibiotic). I also got scripts for a Z-pack and an inhaler. FUN! I don't feel as bad as I should. I just went because I couldn't stop coughing and had lots of congestion. Anyhow, maybe things will start getting better. I am so sick of being sick!!!

We are going to the circus tomorrow night. Can't wait to post pics!

More pictures...

New Pictures

Raising her right!

My girl-child is a hoot! Last night, were were watch the DVR of Miss America from this weekend. She watched attentively, providing her own opinions at every opportunity. I was just waiting to see what she would do during the swimsuit competition because she is REALLY big on people NOT showing skin. Anyway, the first girl comes out in her swimsuit and Peyton's chin hit the floor. She said, "Oooooooh, Mama, she is making God sad!" She is equally appalled when each of them come out and continues to tell all about why it is wrong to show your stomach and legs to everyone.

Next up, the evening gown competition. She continues to provide commentary on each and every dress and what's right and wrong with each. One girl came out wearing a rather low-cut, short, backless dress. Peyton's response: "Mama, she is making God mad AGAIN! She's showing too much boobs and her dress is too short and you can see her back! When I grow up and I'm in a beauty pageant, I am going to wear a long fluffy dress that makes God happy. And I am NOT wearing those bathing suits. I'm wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt instead!!!"

Way to go, Peyton. You make Mommy proud. Keep it up, girl, and you will be fine!!

Week 3 Results

Last week was good. I lost 2 pounds, for a grand total thus far of 7.8 pounds. I was able to exercise a couple of times this week. Thursday I went for a run and was able to run 1/2 mile all at once, which felt really good. "Slow and steady wins the race," I tell myself.

Friday night, Kim, Lori and I got together to celebrate LB's 23rd birthday. We made homemade healthy pizzas and pudding parfaits. We also made a late night run to Wal-Mart. We have plans to get together eventually and experience "Hair Extensions", a movie about a dead person's hair who attacks and kills people. HAHAHAHA! Never a dull moment with my girls. (P.S. We missed you, Heather!)

We had a brunch for our Elder's wives Saturday morning and it was beautiful. I think Christy Knight said it best when she explained to me the awesomeness of seeing God's word in action. The Bible tells us how we should be examples to younger women, and it was so beautiful to see three generations of faithful women of God all in one room together. Thank you to everyone who was a part of it. It was such a blessing and a great way to start the weekend. I will try to post pictures from the brunch soon.

Andrew is doing much better. Thank you for all the prayers.

Update on Andrew

Thank you for all the prayers, e-mails and calls about Andrew. I think he is finally starting to feel a little better. His fever finally broke yesterday, and he has been on antibiotics for 72 hours now. The doctor said he has some sort of super-resistant strain of bacteria in his ear. Eeew! He still isn't sleeping well, but is eating and drinking okay. Hopefully he will continue to get better and can be back at church with us Sunday.

He has been pitiful. Yesterday, after I took Peyton to school I had to go back to the house. He was awake and came to me and gave me a big hug. He then turned right around, looked at my Mom and waved bye to her. He was like, "Okay, my Mommy's here now. You can leave!" It broke my heart. I wanted to stay with him so badly. I guess I should just be thankful that he doesn't have to go to daycare.

Week Two Results

Sorry I have been M.I.A. this week. It's been a crazy one!

During week two, I lost 3.2 pounds for a grand total of 5.8 pounds since the start. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet my exercise goals. But I started this week off right! Because I was off work Monday, Kim and I went to Horse Creek and logged 3 miles. It was cold, but we pushed through. We ran some and speed walked some. It felt so good to be out exercising in the morning. I felt better the whole day!

Thanks for all the encouragement. Just gotta' keep doing what we're doing.

My little vampire!

Okay, I'm sure you all know that I love the Twilight series. And yes, Edward Cullen is hot! But I didn't know I was going to have a little vampire of my own...

Most of you know that Andrew's two bottom center teeth are totally visible now, what a cute toothy grin! Well, he got his third tooth yesterday...YEP, you guessed it! It's a FANG (A.K.A. canine tooth). So he's going to smile and you will see a fang on the top! Only my child! It's not typical for teeth to come in that way. Most children get the bottom centers first and the top centers next. Nope, not my child. Just had to be different, didn't he?

My mom said I got my teeth in the same pattern he has. Go figure!

New pictures

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Delicious Recipe for Low-Cal Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

I got this recipe from an old WW book. I made it last night and it's FANTASTIC. Peyton loves them. She said, "Mommy, can I PLEASE take that for snack tomorrow?" If a 4-year-old approves, you know it's good!

You need:
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
7 oz. marshmallow creme
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
6 cups Rice Krispies

Spray a 13x9 baking dish with butter flavored cooking spray. Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate in a large saucepan over low heat. After melting, stir in cocoa powder, vanilla, and marshmallow creme. Keep stirring over low heat until all ingredients are combined. Fold in Rice Krispies and pour into baking dish. Spray hands with cooking spray and press down on the mixture until it is flat and even. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until set. Cut into 24 squares. Store in refrigerator.

Each square is only 70 calories. Not too bad if you ask me!

Andrew

Well, Andrew will be 9-months-old in 8 short days. I think he has finally figured out the sleeping thing. I have been putting him to bed at 8:00 and he is consistently sleeping until almost 5:00 in the morning. That's 9 hours of sleep for him, and about 7 hours for me. I can live on 7 hours of sleep! It feels good to wake up and not be tired. Of course, my alarm clock goes off at 5:45...but I milk it for all it's worth. Even if I only get 20 more minutes, I go back to sleep after I nurse him. My little man is growing up too quickly!

I can't remember if I already posted this, but he can stand alone now, for about 5 seconds or so and then he sits down. And he has hit the stage where he wants to hold your fingers and walk all over the place. He's pretty speedy, too. He is consistently waving bye-bye and can call for MaMa and DaDa when he wants us. I can't believe that in 3 months I will be planning his first birthday party. It's just not right. I thank God that I have been blessed with these wonderful babies I have!

Week One Results

It's been a good week! I have reached my goal of 30 minutes of activity 4 days this week, so that's good. I have been eating around 1800 calories a day and have lost 2.6 pounds this week. I know some of it was fluid, but my goal is to lose only a pound a week so my milk supply isn't diminished. I feel better and have had more energy.

Kim and I were troopers this morning. Talk about dedicated...we made plans to meet this morning and walk at the track. When we got there, it was drizzling rain but we forged ahead. We managed to get in a mile before the bottom fell out. We made a dash for the car and got a good laugh along the way. This is just another example of why I need accountability. Had I been by myself, I probably would have felt the first drizzle and headed home. Thanks, Kim, for keeping me honest!!!!

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

MEN!!!

Don't you want to just smack them sometimes? We have been "eating healthy" for a little over a week now. My darling husband comes in yesterday and proclaims that he has lost TWELVE POUNDS. Yes, that's right! 12! I have lost 2.2, which is still good but nowhere near 12. As Kim said, men can fart and lose 5 pounds. It's just not right!!!! Still, I am happy for him. We will trudge along and hope I catch up with him one day. :)

Going back for more

I got on the bike again last night. 30 minutes and then ab work. I also made really healthy food choices yesterday...lean protein and lots of fruits and veggies. Little did I know my scales would betray me, the evil things! Lo and behold I GAIN A POUND! How in the world? Only I could start exercising and eating right and gain a pound. Go figure! Oh well...until I finish nursing I am going to concentrate on at least 30 minutes of activity 4x a week and making healthy eating choices. More drastic measures can come in about 3 1/2 months.

Feels like home...

I finally did it! I got back on the bike today. After almost a year apart, my spin bike and I were reunited in my bedroom. Just me, my iPod, good ol' spinning shoes, padded shorts and an adorable 4-year-old looking in on the action. It was, well, like riding a bike! I've lost all of my cardio, endurance and muscle tone, but maybe that will change. I hope I'm not too sore tomorrow. I only rode for about 25 minutes because Andrew started screaming his head off wanting Mommy (we've been together for 14 days and today was my first day back at work.) I want to try to ride for 30 minutes at least 4 times a week. We'll see what happens.

On a sour note, my milk volume was horrible today. I don't know if it's down from me being sick or Andrew eating less because he was sick or what...but I pumped very little milk today. About 8 ounces over 2 pumpings. NOT COOL! Maybe it will improve in the next few days.

Exciting news!!!

It's official! Kim and I are running the Memphis Half-Marathon in December 2009! Here's the plan:

1. January to April: Drop some pounds to make running a little easier (also to give me time to finish nursing Andrew through his first year...thanks for being patient, Kim...I know you could run off and leave me but you would never do that!)
2. May to August: 16-week training program
3. September: 5K and begin to repeat portions of the training program until December arrives
4. October: 10K
5. November: Keep on runnin'...
6. December: HALF-MARATHON!!!!

Our ultimate goal is to finish the half-marathon in December, take a week off, continue training and complete the FULL Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN in April 2010. I know we can do it. Keep us in your prayers that we don't kill ourselves, injure ourselves, run into oncoming traffic or just plain give up!