I lost a small child!!

here's the proof!!



Don't mind the sweaty girl in the pic. I just finished working out and was showing my sister how much difference there was from before



and after.




These are the jeans I wore to my first Weight Watchers meeting on August 13, 2008. I weighed 218 pounds!! (did I really just type that???) So far I am down 61 1/2 pounds (as of the Wednesday before Easter). I add that disclaimer because my FIL made some awesome cinnamon rolls for Brunch yesterday. And I ate my share. and probably John's too. :) they were that good! I also brought 3 home. 2 are left. I am in a size 12 comfortably. I haven't worn a 12 since high school. I also weighed less then than I do now. Is that Vanity Sizing? I have no idea but I do like being in a smaller size! I am still losing wieght. Ideally I'd like to lose another 21 1/2 pounds (don't ask!) for 83 pounds total. I workout an average of 3 days a week. Sometimes more. Sometimes less. Much less. Like zero. But it's okay. I want this to be something I can do forever. I've lost weight more weeks than I've gained. I follow the plan more than I cheat. When I do "cheat" or "fall off the bandwagon" it's NOTHING like it was 8 months ago. Now I cheat on baby carrots or pretzels, not chips and wine. I miss wine. I still drink it occassionally, just not weekly. I have different habits, different comfort foods.

My favorite Easter candy is the mini cadbury milk chocolate eggs with the hard candy coating. LOVE them. Sam's Club had a huge ginormus size bag for less than $8. I picked it up. I held it for a minute before I put it back on the shelf. I told myself I would eat the whole bag and that it wasn't what I wanted. If I wanted the candy I could get a small bag at Meijer. Which I did. I ate it for 4 days. Last year I could (maybe would) have eaten the whole bag at one time. There are still some left in the bag. But I've moved on to something else now. Remember those cinnamon rolls? In all seriousness... I am also picky about jelly beans. I only like the Starburst ones. I bought them for the kids' baskets. I ate 3 as I was stuffing their eggs. I spit them out. They were waaaay tooooo sweet. Didn't think it was possible.

Anyway here is an after shot without any props, but I'm still the sweaty red faced girl in workout clothes. NOT the most flattering pic by far. But at least it's proof that I do exercise. Hopefully I'll post a nice after pic soon.





Easter pics are still on the camera. That's a different post all together though, isn't it?!

Until next time,
Carm

ps... Thanks for all the nice comments on my last post!! So afraid of being judged and criticized. You're the best!

I can't sleep...

Thanks Shannon. I hope you are! :)

So let's purge some of the thoughts in my brain and maybe I'll get a few zzz's before John gets up. Sam came in at about 2:30 and after laying (or is it lying?) in bed for almost 2 hours I decided to blog instead of thinking about what to blog about. It's your lucky day. I've got tons to say!

Where shall we start?


Sam lost his first tooth on March 20th. Already has a new tooth coming in! Came out while snacking on some goldfish crackers! Here is where we put it for the tooth fairy to find.



We just had his IEP meeting at school in March and he has tested out of Special Ed support for First Grade! Yeah! We are so proud of him. They will keep an eye on him and he'll get intervention if he struggles and needs it. He was so excited to read to the class during March is Reading Month. He chose to read Eight Silly Monkeys.




He still loves all things SpongeBob and yellow!

Next we can talk about Zack. Who just so happened to wake up and need my help getting back to bed. It's a good thing I was already up! ;)


He has been in Speech therapy since December and has made great progress. He works so hard on his lip exercises and announciating his "s", "l", and "f" sounds. He is also realizing that he misses sounds at the end of his words and is trying to self correct. It's not perfect but it's huge! My sister talked to him on the phone and commented to me that it was the first conversation where she understood everything he was saying! :)

He and Sam were talking tonight about whether we could go for a walk. Zack said "no, because it was night." (Normally Zack doesn't pronounce the "s" sound or pronounces it like a "t".) Sam thought he was saying "nice". So he didn't understand why Zack was saying no, they couldn't go for a walk! I had to explain that Zack was saying night and not nice. And boy was that nice to explain!! Anyway, I am so proud of how hard he has worked!! The submucus cleft seems to not be a factor according to the Speech Therapist. For that we are THANKFUL and blessed!

We also had his IEP meeting at school and he will continue with speech, occupational, and physical therapy in First Grade.

Perhaps the biggest newsflash here is that we will be separating the twins in First Grade. It will be the first time in three years they will not be in the same class. We're hoping that it will help their relationship and alleviate some of the competetion.

Not as many pics of Zack this time. He still doesn't have any loose teeth...

Let's talk about Jonathan shall we? There won't be many pics of him because he doesn't let me take them! But that's just the tip of the iceberg...



9 months old! Hard to believe that he's 18 already! I can't believe the young man that he's turning out to be. Yikes! MAN! I mean that in both a good and bad way. We have had our fair share of struggles in the pst few weeks and months. He has moved in and out of the house a few times. He needs to grom up and I need to let him make his own mistakes. It doesn't matter how much I want things for him. He has to want those things for himself AND be willing to work hard for them. Right now I'm just praying that he'll pull it together and graduate with his class in May. I'm happy that he's still working at Meijer and has been for over a year now. I think a strong work ethic is important. Certainly more important than a college degree. I'm trying to be supportive of him and his choices. It's hard! I had him when I was young. I have worked so hard and sacrificed (willingly and happily!) so much to give him what every mother wants for her child. I am thankful that John is here to help support me and we are a team. When I am sad and out of control angry, he is calm and reasonable. Jonathan will have to make some difficult decisions, but so did I. We both turned out okay then. We will be okay now too.

Blogger is being funny! I'll post more later. Brain purge almost complete and John's up! Maybe now I'll get some sleep!

until next time,
Carm

June was crazy busy...

So we'll give it its own post. :) For the record I like blogging so much more when I add pics. Thanks Kelly for telling me how easy it is!!

Last day of school.


For the picnic I made these.


Two days later they went in for surgery.


Zack had some complications and could only have the tubes put in but not the adenoids removed. Two days later he was in the ER getting a spinal tap to rule out meningitis. SCARIEST day ever!!



He came through like a champ!

Father's Day
You are my rock and our children are lucky to call you dad! Truely blessed.


Strawberry picking.
I took the boys strawberry picking at Blakes with my family. It was girls against the boys (plus the twins) and the girls won! Woot!!



We picked four of these and then made this!



while the little boys played in the sprinkler.


We headed to Battle Creek for the zoo and water park with John's parents, brother, sil, and Ava. Here we are hanging out in the hotel.



and our annual pic from Binder Park Zoo...



also where we came home with these two furry friends - Thanks, Grandma!


The next day was spent at Full Blast Water Park and we had a blast!! This is my favorite pic from the water park. I smile every time I see this pic of John and Zack, probably one of my favorites!



There you have it, June reviewed in pictures!


No, Sam isn't waving. he's telling me to stop!

Until next time,
Carm

Let's play catch up!

Since my last post here's what's been happening!
March 2008:
Easter


Jonathan, Sam, and Zack with sweet Ava.



Jonathan's first job!! He works at Meijer and was NOT happy that I snapped this pic of him. (he also just got a haircut! I was so happy to see the long locks GONE!!)



My 35th Birthday found us at the Ann Arbor Children's Museum. We also stopped at a famous burger place, Krazy Jim's Blimpie Burger, that we saw on Food Network's Dine Ins, Drive Ins, and Dives. The burgers were yummy!



Sam had his first alone sleepover with John's parents. We have never had alone time with Zack so we took him to play at the Bounce House.

Evidently nothing picture worthy happened in April so we'll move right along to May.

Mother's Day:



Me and my boys! I can't believe how much I love these guys!




Evidently the weather was nice pretty early on, here we are at the park.



John received a promotion at work and here we are checking out his new office! (love you, hon. so proud!)



I also spent some time volunteering at school.



We replaced the diamond earring I lost shoveling snow New Year's Day. :)

Memorial Day:


Despite the colder weather the boys had fun blowing the bubbles!

I think that's enough for now. Stay tuned for the next update!

Until then,
Carm

Happy Birthday, Kel!!!

Loooong time no update.... Hopefully soon!

Just want to wish my great friend, Kelly, the BEST birthday ever!!



Here we are in Chicago (at the Bean) last November (right after her bday). She's in the bottom left and I'm right behind her. I've known her 4 years now and I love when we can get together. She's a great pal and I treasure our friendship.

Here's to you, Kel! Thanks for the push to update and uploading pics is easy! Who knew??

Carm

What does your name mean???

I copied this from Shan's blog. Thought it described her pretty well. I agree with some points about me, but not all of them. (but more that I want to admit too.)

What Carmen Means

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is the day when everyone has a little Irish in them. We celebrate drinking some green beer and eating some Irish food. Corned Beef and cabbage, anyone? Okay, so we don't do that. But we could. If we ate corned beef and cabbage. But I'll take the beer, please.

Had an awesome weekend! Friday's meeting was emotional but we realize how mich Zack has grown and progressed. Next year will be amazing for him. Sam too. The teacher, principal, and staff seem wonderful. I'll miss Mrs. W., Mrs. B., and Miss Michelle immensely. But we're ready for the next road in our journey.

The crop went well. I think the DT waaaayy out did themselves this year! Huge shout out to Shan, Kel, Liz, Colleen, Monica, and Laura! Awesome job, ladies!

Saturday, we saw Horton Hears a Who with the inlaws. It was a great movie. Zack declared it "the best movie EVER!" Enough said.

Wehit Archiver's to did a bit of shopping for a certain bday girl. ;) Monica and I decided to take a clear album class at Archiver's in April. Those little albums are so intimidating and intriguing to me at the same time. I have one, Monica has one or two and neither of us have used them.

Sunday, Liz and the fam came out and we hit the bowling alley. It was fun! I think the adults could have used the bumpers as much as the kiddos. Except John. He bowled his best game ever, 176! WooHoo! You go Boy! :) After bowling we had pizza from our favorite place, Buscemi's original. It wasn't as good as it usually is though. We came back here and matched cardstock and paper for the kit.

Discussed going on a cruise this summer and the 4 of us would like to go together. We had a great visit with them. We need to do it again soon. The only thing that stinks is they live in Canada and we live in the US. When we first met it wasn't an issue traveling back and forth across the border. Now the wait seems like forever. Last August we were stuck at the border for easily an hour. I think it was more, but I don't remember. They were stopped for an hour last night. That's just hard when you're traveling with kids.

until next time,
Carm