Funny Guy

Jackson always makes me laugh with the intersting way he looks at the world and how he applies his newly acquired knowledge. Here are a few pics to illustrate my point.While I was nursing Sam, Jackson grabbed my nursing pad and put it on his head and said, "Hat, Mama!" It was so cute how he was walking around with it on his head so proudly that I hollered to Ben to come snap a picture. Doesn't it look like a fedora? (Isn't that what those Jewish hats are called?)I walked into the playroom to find Jackson putting every single one of my sorting bears under the rug. I said, "Whatcha doing, Jack?" and he said, "The bears are HIDING, Mama!" (He put his peas under a bowl the other day and told me they were hiding, too.) So I grabbed the camera and snapped a few shots and continued to watch him as he lifted up the rug, got under it, and pulled it over himself. He said, "We see-pee, Mama," and laid down and pretended to snore. What a crazy kid!

Working Hard

This week I finally saw some results on the scale. I have lost 3 lbs. I have noticed that my body was changing from all the weightlifting I have been doing, and because I have been building muscle it is natural for me not to lose any weight as muscle weighs more than fat. I have been trying to be patient, but I still can't really fit into even my size 10's yet, at least not without great shame.

I am beginning to accept the reality that I will not be able to meet all my goals in my Butts vs. Guts competition with Ben. I have only been able to run 2 miles in 19 minutes as my best time, I do NOT have visible abs (but they are beginning to flatten back out), I will NOT be in a size 8, and I will NOT weigh 145 by our deadline of August 24. I am working my butt off (literally), going to the gym sometimes 2x a day 4-5 times a week AND running several times a week, but losing 15 lbs in 8 weeks is unrealistic unless you are going to resort to unhealthy measures. I am nursing, so that isn't an option even if I wanted it to be. Well, at least I can feel good in knowing that I am doing my best, and results are starting to show. I'll have to make new goals (just for me) and get ready to be skiing on our Christmas vacation instead of spending time in our new hot tub.

I'm not giving up though! No matter how long it takes me, I WILL lose this weight and feel healthy again!

When Will I Ever Learn?

not to make bets against Ben. I always lose.

Tonight we were talking about Vince Vaughn and when did he become a well-known celebrity? We were watching him in the 2nd Jurassic Park movie, and I remember seeing it for the first time and I didn't know who he was. Now he is a big star. So I said I didn't think I really knew who he was until after Dodgeball, I think. Ben disagreed and said his big break was that Domestic Disturbance movie with John Travolta. I said, that wasn't Vince Vaughn, that was that other little known celebrity who is much shorter than Vince Vaughn and has bright blue eyes and blondish grayish hair. He looks a lot like Vince Vaughn, but with a more evil look about him. We googled it, turns out I was wrong and now I owe Ben a massage as soon as Jackson goes to bed...MAN!

So now I am so annoyed at myself. What is the name of the guy I was thinking of and what movies has he been in?! Help me out people, do you know who I am talking about? He is not a major household celebrity name, but maybe if you know who I am talking about you can remind me of another movie he has done.

I'm off to get out the massage table...

(and, yes, we have a massage table. It was my birthday present a few years ago.)

WICKED

This broadway musical was absolutely indescribable! If you haven't seen it, you have got to!! It was showing in Tulsa, so I got tickets with my mom and sisters-in-law and we went out to dinner at Panera first, then saw the show. We had such a great time! It was one of the best girls' nights I have had!!

I am really glad to have gotten to spend that time with my mom because she was just rediagnosed with breast cancer and might not be feeling up to going out in the next few months. Her most recent CAT scan showed a small spot in her central lymph nodes near her lungs. Her doctor will be doing a bone scan to see exactly where it is and they are currently trying to see if thay can get her in a clinical trial for a new drug. However, I bet that when my grandparents find out that her cancer has come back, they will insist that she goes to MD Anderson. They donate a significant amount of money there. Right n ow that is all we knoe until the bone scan. Luckily they found it early, so her doctor is optimistic, but this is her 3rd round with Stage 4 breast cancer.

Anyway, enough sadness and worry, back to the MUSICAL! Wicked is the prequel to The Wizard of Oz. It is so neat to see because it sort of explains many things that happened in the Wizard of Oz. It explains why the Wicked Witch wore a black hat and rode a broom, why she is green, how the Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, and Tinman came to be, how the tornado causing a house to fall on her sister was important, and why she wanted the ruby slippers so much. It also follows a relationship between Glinda the Good Witch and (Elphaba) the Wicked Witch. It was a great story where everything comes together in the end that makes you say, "Oh!!!!" when you put it together. The music was great, the sets and costumes were great, the performances were INCREDIBLE! It was funny, touching and for something so entertaining, it really explored some deep themes that parallel controversial issues we face today. It was definitely one of the best things I have ever seen! I wish I was watching it again right now!!

Before I had kids...

-I got a full night's sleep regularly.
-I could run to the store for a gallon of milk and back in 20 minutes.
-I could leave the house without coordinating nap and feeding schedules.
-I didn't have 10 loads of laundry to wash, dry, fold, hang up and put away every week.
-I never uttered the words, "potty," "poo-poo," or "pee-pee"
-I managed to make it a full day without a spot on my clothes.
-I had never been simulataneously pooped on and thrown up on.
-I didn't have to take a stuffed dalmation with me everywhere I went.
-My house stayed clean for days on end instead of hours.
-I only had one butt to wipe.
-I never had to dig a dead bug out of a toddler's mouth.
-I had never picked someone else's nose.
-I wore makeup everywhere.
-I only had one size of clothes in my closet

Just reflecting, not complaining.

On my way...

I am doing so good! No results on the scale yet tho. In fact, as predicted, I actually gained a lb and half over 4th of July.

However, I got a good start on the week. I have worked out either at home or at the gym every day this week. Monday, I tried to go to the gym, but Jackson is still warming up to it, so I only got to get on the elliptical for about 10 min and I had to go get him, but I did my "Best Butt Fast" (haha) workout video for 45 minutes, then alternated with the ab roller and lunges while I watched an episode of Law and Order when the boys were napping.

Tuesday, Jackson was a little more willing to stay in the gym day care. I stayed with him for about 20 minutes until I felt like he was ready for me to slip out. He did cry a little, but the gym day care worker told him (like I told him the day before as we were leaving and he wanted a sticker) that if he cried and threw a fit, he wouldn't get his sticker. He stopped crying immediately. Yes! I got to lift weights full body for 30 minutes, then do 15 minutes of the elliptical before child care closed.

Today I decided to stay home and be a little lazy because Samson was up every 2 hours hungry or having painful gas last night. I did NOT get the mother of the year award today as after Jack had breakfast, I put in his favorite movie, Kung Fu Panda (Pan-a, as he calls it) and slept lightly on the couch during the intervals when Sam was sleeping. I finally got motivated to get off the couch at 11:30, made Jackson lunch and put him down for a nap. Dr. Chen's office closed early today so Ben came home early, and so I watched a little more TV with him and slept a little more on the couch with Sam on my chest (I love sleeping with a baby cuddled up to me!) while Jack was napping. Then Jack woke up, Ben decided to go nap since he wasn't feeling well, and Jackson and I went outside to play in the sprinkler and his frog pool while Sam chilled in the shade on the deck in his carseat carrier. Then I came in, made dinner (Sloppy Joe's - I SOOO need to go the grocery store.), and woke Ben up so he could eat and then study. After dinner I vacuumed the play room and living room, cleaned up the kitchen, then I did my Best Butt Fast workout video for 45 min and went for a run.

Here is what I am most proud of: Last week I barely had gotten my one mile time under 9 minutes, but today I ran it in 8:34, then came in, stretched and got some water, and went back out to attempt mile 2. I couldn't finish my second mile as my legs were giving out on me, but I did make it 3/4 mile about 30 sec behind my pace for my first mile. I'm hoping to be able to run 2 miles consecutively in 18 minutes by the beginning of next week, then I can work on getting my time down so I can be on track for my goal of 3 miles in 25 minutes by August 21.

So there you have it, It's slow-going, but I am already feeling stronger, faster, and healthier. Working out so hard makes me less apt to stuff my face with junk food, too! I'm going to be in my sister's wedding on August 4, so I hope to have lost a dress size by then.