time for an update

yeah, i have a few things to post about, so here it goes...

kathryn had a bday party on Feb. 20th and i think it went well... i have a few ideas for improving next years. i decided to plan out some games (i had pictures, but can't seem to find them) so i had managed to stuff a fun size pack of MMs in a balloon...not easy btw, in the future i'll stick to starburst or something. but i had some balloons blown up with candy and some not, and they were all scattered amongst the yard so the kids had to figure out which had candy by popping them. i think the kids loved that. but once again...a fun size pack is a lot of candy...

the next game was the "toy hunt" i hand picked out some toys (all different) and wrote groups of 3 on a piece of paper, and the mom's had to tell the kids what was on the list so they could find it. i simply scattered the toys in the grass in a small area so it wasnt too difficult. i'll do more with that next year.

and lastly, i took out my old parachute i made...if we had more parents, it might have worked better when doing the "dome" but it was fun and the kids loved it. i know i did when i was a kid.

kathryn was a bit grumpy at first cuz Mimi wasn't the first one to get there...and after each person not being mimi came through the door, she got more and more sad...and then mimi came and she got over it and started to have fun with her friends. they loved the trampoline.

with every gift kathryn opened, i tried to get her to hug the person that gave it to her and tell them thank you...when she went to hug Kaiden, he gave her the one handed hug with a funny look and split. it was funny. boys don't wanna touch girls i guess. but the funniest thing yet was when she opened Aunt Jenni's present, after removing all the clothes in a disappointed manner and chunking them to Mimi, she got to the toys...pulled out the watering can and took off outside to use it! haha, didn't even want to wait to see what else she got. the girl LOVES playing with water, so perfect gift for her. she also got a no spill bubble dispenser, which really works!!! i dunno how, but the kids can tip it and it doesn't spill and it had plenty of bubble juice left. YAY for this!! cuz i can't tell ya how many bottles of bubbles we've gone through from them accidentally knocking it over and spilling them all.

what amazes me, is kathryn has such a good memory. we'll be putting on clothes and she'll be telling me who gave it to her...like today she was saying "mimi gave me these (pants) for my buhday!" "she sure did, how do you remember that?" anyhow.

this past weekend, john's Uncle Danny's brother passed away. we went up to lafayette twice once on saturday and again on monday... and i've noticed for the last few months, daniel has stranger anxiety bad...when there are too many people he doesn't know around, he flips out and won't let me but him down...well saturday was no exception. poor Aunt Mel, daniel still won't let her hold him...but Uncle Danny...no problem...yeah, he has a thing for men apparently. on monday at the funeral, Daniel walked up to one younger guy and wanted to sit in his lap...so he pulled daniel up and he sat! WHAT??? that's never happened before! then he walks up to an older man and waves after staring at him...lol. well, we got to the funeral home about 2 hours before the funeral was scheduled, and after about 45 mins, the kids wanted to run and be crazy...but it was raining outside... but i had the van, and it had a dvd player...so yep, we trucked the kids into the van and turned the movie on... Corine was thoughful enough to get Aley's 2 kids and Dee's little girl (all 5 and under) and bring them in the van too...5 kids...but we all fit! woo hoo for vans!!! they did really good...but then came time for the funeral to start and i was dreading trying to get the kids to be reverent and quiet... so we decided to just stay in the van so the others could get a chance to pay attention and not be distracted. Corine and i decided to go to McDonalds after the kids were saying they wanted more food... so we got chicken nuggets, chocolate milk and fries,and daniel fell asleep! yay. but here's a funny story:

(we're in a town called Scott which is small and unfamilar to me) and so we are heading back to the funeral home which sits right on a main street with parking right on the street (so to speak) well as i approached where i was parked, i realized someone took my spot, but just as i was passing, i realized the spot next to it was free not handicapped, so i stopped, but realizing i was too far forward to pull in, i was about to...and suddenly the person behind me honks his horn...right in front of the funeral home... only, it wasn't just a honk, it was him laying on his horn not letting up...i drive forward and go to make a turn around and he's still honking even as he passes me, and when i pull into the spot i realize he's still honking, and i say to corine "what a jerk! he's still honking!" when she points out "no, i think something is wrong, he just pulled over and popped his hood...i think his horn is stuck!" "WHAT! HAHAHAHAHAHA, serves him right for being so rude to begin with!!!" unfortunately, everyone in the funeral heard it loud and clear...so much for keeping the peace.

besides that, this weekend i totally blew my "calorie budget" with all the good food that was around! i just hate passing up food that i know i won't get again for a long time!!! hahah. so i nearly gained all the weight i had lost...i was at 146.8 on sunday. by wednesday (i weigh myself each night before i go to bed) i was down to 143.6!!! i have been doing great this week staying under 1400 calories each day...and i everyday i've seen a drop of at least .5lbs!!! that is crazy! there is nothing like seeing the numbers fall daily to keep you motivated to keep at it! i've also made sure my sugar intake was minimal (obviously to stayunder 1400 calories!) i have had no dessert but have been trying to make sure i eat healthy things, like fruit and veggies for snacks. they are low cal and good nutrition. it is working for me! i haven't been working out everyday per se, but just the daily running around that mom's do seems to be good enough.

this is a funny thing for me. i've never weighed this much ever (besides being prego) so i've never really had to "watch" what i eat. i always ate whatever i wanted when ever. i also used to be a lot more active. with gymnatics that kept my muscle mass high and lots of energy burned. well, those days are over, and i finally am drawing a line. i don't want to be overweight. i want my body to feel good, not aching and heavy... and yeah, i've been saying i ned to loose weight for a good 2 years now, but never made any lifestyle changes...so nothing ever happened...except i got bigger...gain a little more weight and suddenly none of my clothes fit me (in the hips/waist) i can't afford to buy new clothes, so after a few attempts to exercise more that yielded no change in weight or body mass...i decided it was time to look at what i was eating...i always knew i was probably eating too much, but i love food. i also LOVE sweet stuff. just seeing a nice glistening donut makes my mouth water and i give in. i want it...i don't want to be without the sweet stuff... and that has been my biggest struggle. saying no only makes it harder to stay away... until you get something else on your mind...

i keep telling myself, i'll eat it another day, just not today. if i can just hold out till tomorrow, then i can eat those yummy millionaries (candy) and candy bars... well, i can't do that. i have to change my mind about wanting sweets and choose to not want them... the whole issue with sugar and articles and studies done on how it's addictive etc. i think it's got me good. but this week i've done great. even when my sweet cravings popped up, i ate an apple and another time a banana...and that seems fine. i have been keeping count of my calories and that really helps me to see how i'm doing, with what balance of nutrition i am getting. i read an article on yahoo about 5 foods you should eat everyday...

check it out

basically they say

1. dark leafy greens
2. nuts
3. onions
4. whole grains
5. yogurt

it has some good pointers there. i'm going to try that.

so today i feel like i got so much done! i feel like a strong woman! woohoo. i decided i was going to cut the plywood to make it fit in the attic and make space to store stuff up there... man, you don't realize how heavy a 3ftx8ft piece of plywood is until you are trying to get it through your attic around all the hanging wires and ductwork! it seems like the electrician could've done a better job with having the wires out of the way...ugh. i got a little bit done, but i ran out of 2x4's and i'm gonna go get some at the construction sites tomorrow...all free. besides that, i also cleaned out my garage...WOOHOO! it's so pretty! i was organizing all my boards i shanked from the houses being constructed down the street, and one board was a 3/4 in thick 12inx12ft MDF board...NICE~ just what i need for my bookcase i want to build! only it wasn't enough, so i'll have to go get some more... but i got an itch to cut the boards to size for the bookcase so i did! i have 3 shelves and 1 side. it's not so easy working with a hand saw trying to keep your lines straight holding the saw in one hand, and holding the board still with the other...that saw is a good 10 lbs! ...when i'm ready to finish i'm gonna see about borrowing FiL's miter saw. well, next post will have a ton! of pictures... for now, this will have to do.