Weekly Weigh-In!!

The Week: Honestly, I thought it was going to be so much worse than it was. I have gotten very used to having Gabriel in school every day, and aside from Christmas break (I don't count that as a "real" break since we were in PA - and there were a bunch of other adults to watch kiddos) I haven't been stuck with all three kids all day long since last summer. Monday was rough, but the kids tried really hard to behave, and they manages to get 5 smiley faces!! If they can hold out for the rest of the day, they can have the big box o' kitchen loot. It's not looking too likely right now...the kids are all kinds of crazy for some reason. Jon's got no more patience for them!!

So...kids. Gabriel has found a new love. Star Wars. Master Kenobi and Anni have replaced Gordon and Thomas. And whole I'm not necessarily sad to see the trains go, it's a little depressing to know that Gabriel's growing up. His reward for having good evenings is to stay up and watch The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network.

Elliott's new bed is (was?) the answer to her night-time-naughtiness. She hasn't gotten out of her bed unnecessarily at all! She stays in all night and all during nap-time. It's been wonderful. She also decided that she no longer wanted long hair. So yesterday I took the Girls out for haircuts. OMG. They look so damned cute that I can't stand it! See?

Elliott LOVES her new haircut. She was so tired of it being in her face all the time, and she really didn't like the pigtails. This is going to be so much easier for me to take care of, too. I wasn't looking forward to fighting with her hair at the beach in a few weeks. I think she looks like Felicity (from the show "Felicity") - too cute for words! Jon?? Hates it. He's even taken to calling her "Chia Head" (just like in the show).

You can't really see Janna's hair here, but it's got shape and curls!! It's not all stringy and hanging in her eyes...it's so cute! Jon hates her hair, too. He's one of those "girls-should-have-long-hair-or-they-look-like-boys" kind of guy. And it bothers me.

The kids aren't the only ones who had a great week...I did, too! I got out of the house (ok, so doctor's appointments are really lame excuses for getting out, but it was still out), and I got to spend time with friends. I even made a new friend this week. Her name? Leslie Sansone. My girl, Jillian, and I still hang out 3 days a week; and Denise and I are still buddies, but frankly I'm getting sick of her (it's not her fault - I just need something new to "talk" to her about). So I found Leslie...and I love her! She doesn't care that I'm all smelly and sweaty after we "chat", and she pushes me to be a better me. Gotta love a friend like that!


The Weight: I was sure that I wasn't going to lose any weight this week (that's what eating ice cream every single night does to a girl), but I did! I lost .8 pounds...bringing the total to 60.8 pounds!

Tagged!!

Lisha tagged me in her latest post...

Here are the RULES:

1. Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.

2. Go to the 6th Folder and then pick the 6th Picture.

3. Post it on your bloggy and tell the story that goes with the picture.

4. Tag 5 other glorious peoples to do the same thing and leave a comment on their bloggy tellin’ them ’bout it.

Here's my issue...my pictures are separated by kid/theme - yeah, I'm that anal. So, I'm adding three pictures.

The Lad. Gabriel is about 6 months old in this picture. He hated wearing pants. He preferred to chew on them.

Elliott Jane at 1 month, 1 day old. 3 days before Christmas. Gabriel had just taken the bear off of her head (he used to love putting syuffed animals on her head as hats).

Me. 37 weeks, 2 days pregnant with Janna. I was huge!

Who's Next?

1. Erin

2. Liz

3. Debby

4. Cheryl

5. Erika

Smiley Faces!

Smiley faces have been issued for yesterday and today! The kids have been really, very , kind of good, and I've been trying my hardest to let things slide. I also upped the ante...there is now a prize for the week. If they have 4 (or more) smiley faces at the end of the week, they will get a giant set of new food stuff for the "kitchen" (which is now in my living room).

Yesterday one of the UPK Moms offered to take Gabey off my hands for the morning. Um, yeah?! He was gone for 3 glorious hours! I was able to do laundry, rearrange some toys (I carried E's barbie house to her room [which was no small feat] and I dragged the kitchen up from the playroom), and play with the Girls. It was so great. And BONUS! When he got home, he was exhausted. The Girls were snoozy, too, so nap-time was awesome. All three kiddos took 3 hour naps. And they once again inhaled their dinners. I spent the evening at Erin's house for a small round of "Stitch 'n bitch". We stitched and made fun of her husband for playing Zelda for over 80 hours. It was awesome.

Today was exhausting, but the kids made it through with their smiley faces intact. And better yet - my face is still smiling! Gabriel had an eye exam at 9:15 (he passed - he's got better than 20/15 vision), and then I had to drag all three kids to the pediatrician (Elliott has an ear infection and bronchitis). Even though it was a giant pain, all three kids were extremely well-behaved. I was (and still am) so proud! And since they had been out and about all morning, all three once again took awesome naps. I literally had to wake Gabriel up at 4:45!

So after a tiring day, I'm going to crash on the couch for the rest of the evening. My beloved LOST is on in a while, and I'm going to do some more stitching. Oh, and I'm also going to have a beer - or three!

Frowny Day

No one got a smiley face on their calendar today. Except for maybe Jon. He's just so awesome - and doesn't get half of the credit he deserves.

So the day started out with kids behaving moderately well. Jon left the house at 8:15 and everyone was smiling. By 9:30 - the kids lost it. They had to be separated, put in corners, banned from toys...it was insane. So frowny faces were abundant. Mommy was frowny because no one was listening (and it's Monday). Gabriel was frowny because he was sent to time-out repeatedly. Elliott was frowny because she refused to put away her Barbies (and therefore lost the opportunity to play with them for the rest of the day). And Janna was frowny because she just didn't feel good.

Which brings me to another reason for part of my frowniness. Janna's sick. I know she's sick. How do I know she's sick? She smells weird. When my kids are sick, they have a funny smell. It's not a bad smell. It's just not...normal. So I took her to the ped's office, and Dr. Y. saw nothing wrong with her. The yellow dripping from her eyes and nose? Apparently normal - just a cold. The fever? Normal. Lethargy? Normal. Refusal to drink? Normal. Um, ok. So she told me to "keep an eye on her", and to make sure that I stay home for the next 4 days. Again I said, "Um, ok." I think I said, "Um, ok" about 10 times. I told her that this behavior and the dripping goo is not normal. Meh...what do I know? I'm only a mom.

My frownines did subside a number of times today...1) when I realized that the pair of capri pants that I bought on Saturday were supposed to be $3.00 - not $14.92; 2) while sweating along with Miss Jillian; and 3) while watching my kids inhale their dinner. My frownies disappeared for good while I was wandering semi-aimlessly through Wally Land with Miss Erin this evening. I needed them to go away so I can look forward to tomorrow without any residual anger from today. Here's to Tuesday...may it be better than today! (Can you see me raising my icy cold bottle of MGD 64 in a toast?)

Weekly Weigh-In!!

The Week: Was iffy. Some days were good, others were bad. I started a new "system" for the kids' calendars. If they were good, at the end of the day they get a smiley face (either a drawing or a sticker). On the not-so-good days, they get a frowny face. 4 smiley faces out of 7 is what we're aiming for. Elliott made it last week. Gabriel, not so much. He had 4 last night before bed and then he flipped out. (For those of you out there with older-ish kids, am I the only one who thinks it's absolutely ridiculous and a giant PITA when an almost 5 year-old throws a tempter tantrum? Seriously. His tantrums are worse than either of his sister's.) We'll see how this week goes. There's no school so it should be interesting.

The best part of the weekend (well, thus far) was yesterday afternoon/evening. The kids were so good, Jon was happily playing on the floor with all three of them, and I was out shopping by myself. I once again stimulated the hell out of the economy. I bought our plane tickets to Florida (and I can't frickin' wait!!!) on Friday night, and I started making lists of what I need for the kids and myself. I have no summer clothing. None. Everything I wore last year is now 3-4 sizes too big. The kids and Jon are pretty well set, but I have nothing. I found a pair of cute capri pants (in the misses section!!) and some shirts. I even bought undies and 4 new bras! I found a new bathing suit, too. A few pairs of shorts, and I'm ready to go! I also found some cute stuff for the girls.

The best purchase? A NEW BED FOR ELLIOTT!! I love BigLots, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I shop there once a week. There are so many good deals, and this week's deal was on mattresses. If you bought the Serta mattress ($99.99), you got the box spring for $10! SCORE! I already had a full cart (when you have kids that go through a box of cereal every 4 days, $1.30 boxes of cereal are the way to go!!), but when I saw the sale I ran out to the van. It was a giant pain, but I got all of the seats stowed so I could get the bed. I was giddy! Then I had to go back to WalMart for bedding. I seriously was almost unable to contain my excitement. She had no idea that Jon had set the bed up, and when she went upstairs, she was so surprised! Hopefully this will have an effect on her naughty I'll-get-out-of-my-bed-if-I-want-to-just-to-piss-you-off behavior.

The Weight: 60 is my new favorite number! I lost 1.2 pounds this week, bringing the total loss to 60 pounds! I am so excited! I've already met one of my goals - I am able to shop in the regular ladies' section at most stores now. I would still like to lose at least 5 more pounds, but I am so thrilled with the progress I have already made. Pardon my shameless brag here, but I ROCK!

Weekly Weigh-In!!

The Week: Was great...until Friday. And once again, all hell broke loose. I don't understand why, either. The first 4 days of the week were amazing. I had lots of MOMS Club stuff to do, and the kids had great days in school. Everyone was listening, and I was content. Then...chaos. Nothing but chaos. Even the weekend pretty much sucked. But I did get to go shopping (for new sneakers and sports bras - trying to follow along with Jillian requires a good bra!!) alone! And because it was so gorgeous out, I was able to take a few good, long walks. I'm so ready for Spring!! But since it can't come fast enough, we are thinking about going to Florida for a few days. We'll see what happens!

The Weight: I lost .2 pounds this week. Total loss: 58.8 pounds. I've noticed that when I have my monthly visitor, I lose less weight for the week. Which is fine with me. Except for the fact that said visitor has been visiting for about 3 weeks.

Llama Beans

While we were eating dinner tonight (au gratin potatoes, turkey kielbasa, mixed veggies, and salad), Elliott was picking at her veggies. Picking at food is a no-no around here, so Jon gently reminded her that she needed to eat. He told her that veggies will make you grow up big and tough and strong. She wasn't buying it, and kept annoyingly asking what veggies were on her plate. Jon gave her the list: peas, lima beans, carrots, corn, and green beans. She immediately lit up at the mention of lima beans.

E: "Llama beans?"
D: "No. Liiiiiiima beans. Not llama."
E: "Sounds like you sayin' llama beans. Does that mean I'll grow up big like a llama if I eat 'em?"
D: "Sure. Just eat them."
E: "Hey Mom! I'm growin' up big. Like a llama. So's you. And Janna. And Daddy, too. But not Gabey. He's not eatin'. What a turd."
M&D: "Elliott! We don't talk like that at the table. Just eat."
E: "Well. I'm gonna be big like a llama. He isn't. Do llamas eat llama beans?"
D (losing his patience): "Yes. EAT!"
E: "Ok, ok. I'm just askin'. So. I'm gonna turn into a llama. That's cool."

Kids. Gotta love 'em!

Weekly Weigh-In!!

The Week: The first half was awesome! I honestly can't complain about a single part of it. The kids were really, really good. They rewards charts were covered with stickers, the naughty bins were empty, and everyone was happy. Especially me. Then Thursday arrived. And all hell broke loose. I have no idea what prompted it, but all of the goodness was completely undone. The rewards charts were empty (except for Janna's - she gets stickers for using the potty), the bins were overflowing with toys that didn't get picked up, and the corners were alternately filled with either a screaming 4.75 year-old and/or a shrieking 3 year-old. Friday was even worse. By the time Jon got home I was ready to kill kids. I managed to maintain my cool as much as possible (I didn't swear at them, and I didn't scream, either), but I was frazzled to say the least.

It feels like everything I am doing is back-firing. I know that I have to stick with it, and that the "goodness" isn't going to happen overnight. But holy crap. Something's gotta give. And soon.

Jon keeps reminding me that I am a great Mom - that I am doing the best that I can with difficult kids - that I should be proud of what I do. I know all of what he says is true. But there are days when I feel so overwhelmed that I can't stand it.

Today is the beginning of a new week. I am letting all of what happened last week stay with last week. It's not being mentioned again. Hopefully this week will start AND end well.

The Weight: I'm down .8 pounds, bringing the total to 58.6 pounds.