Another Good Day

I am trying to figure out how to blog about my daily successes, because if I put it in writing I feel I will be held more accountable for my choices, by the 5 or 6 people who actually read my blog..  So far today, I have been very successful with eating healthy and logging my food choices. I find it easier at work to make good food choices, because I can only eat what I bring right?  although there are those wretched vending machines, but the only one I have a real relationship with is the soda machine.  I just can't quite give up the caffeine!   I joined Curves on Friday and went straight there when I was done work today.  I am very hopeful to be able to do that Monday through Friday.  I still need to figure out the walking thing because I know I need to do that as well--a little cardio is good for the soul!!.  I must confess, I was terrified to get on the scales this morning....so I didn't...I decided I need a few days of good healthy eating before I face the scale.  Afternoons and evenings are the worst for me, I think in part because everyone is home and it is comfortable, so my biggest challenge is to make it until bedtime without some major "food breakdown". 
  In other news we now have a teenage driver, In 4 days son2 will be 13, and son3 has an appointment at the orthopedist...and life goes on...and on....

More tomorrow...

"Chubs Away" Round 2!!

During our "Chubs Away" weight loss challenge which for those of you who didn't know our team took 1st place losing 50 pounds in 8 weeks (Jim lost 27 and I lost 17 and there were 5 people on our team) ...anyway during that challenge one of the contestants said "when I signed up I realized I couldn't do 8 weeks that was such a long time (this person also went on to lose 30 pounds), but I realized that if I had one good day and then another good day and then another eventually I could string them together and it would be 8 weeks."  I really thought this was a great strategy, so coming off an incredibly fat and sugar infused Christmas/New Years, Jim and I have decided to continue our weight loss journey and see what happens....So beginning tomorrow morning (and believe me the thought of facing the scale tomorrow is making me ill right now!), and each Monday for the next 9 weeks (I wanted 10, but the 10th Monday is the day after my birthday and who wants to watch what they eat on their birthday),  we will weigh in at home and see how it goes.  On Friday I went and joined Curves by our office so my 1st goal is to make it there Monday through Friday.  My next goal is to have one good day at a time.  Today was day One of getting back on track with the healthy eating, and keeping a food log, and it was very SUCCESSFUL day. 

MOM! look at NICK's Thumb!

I arrived home from work on Thursday afternoon, and I was greeted my daughter and the following "MOM! check out Nick's thumb."  followed by Nick "Yeah Mom look at my thumb, but don't touch it, 'cause it hurts when you touch it".  I looked at his right thumb and NO joke it was more than twice the size of his left thumb.   Now son 3 is very good at getting these types of thumb injuries, we usually wrap it, give him some advil and within a couple of days he is as good as new.  When I looked at his thumb this time, I just had that sinking pit in my stomach...they have never looked that big or had that pretty of a blueish purpleish color.On a positive note at least it was still semi straight, and no bone was sticking out.  I was also pretty sure I didn't want to know the answer to the question "How did that happen?" and I was right, a hackey sack, a jump rope and his sister.  Really that was all I needed and wanted to hear about it.   He didn't seem too upset or whiney about it, so I told him if it still looks like that in the morning I will take you in to see the doctor.  About an hour later the dad got home and I advised son3 "Hey go show your dad your thumb"  I looked at it again too, and the blueish purpleish color had gotten a lot brighter, "hmmm I am sure tht can't be good."  The Dad's response "OOO I think that looks broken" and then he said to me "should we take him in?"  I figure since we have Friday off, we can run him down to the docs in the morning, they do x-rays right at the office, shouldn't be a big deal right?.  Luckily, I called the doctor's office and  the voicemail said "We will be closed Friday December 31st"  Of course, because I have that kind of luck!!  I have this great neighbor who has 7 kids so I trust her "mom" judgement.  "Hey son3 get shoes and a coat and go show Marci your thumb"  He gets back and says "Yup her and Heidi (the teenage daughter) both say it looks broken, and I didn't even get to give them all the details".  Now the parental debate begins.  Do we take him to urgent care tonight or wait until tomorrow when URGENT care will be overflowing with all the people who can't get into see their doctor's because of the impending holiday.  So the kind and wonderful dad put him in the car and off they went to urgent care.  After filling out 10 forms, I am sure in duplicate maybe even triplicate, and then sitting around waiting they finally got the X-ray and sure enough it was broken.  Next comes the splint, I did mention he is right handed and this was his right thumb.  He told the doctor, "Well I did on Wednesday night and when I went to tell my mom she gave me a job to do and then my dad told me to go to bed, so I didn't tell them"  In my defense when he did come to tell me he and Ben both came in screaming at each other about the gum on the floor, not a single mention of hurting himself........Oh won't school be fun!  

When they got home I looked at son3 and had the following conversation:
"I think you get the prize"

"What Prize?"

"The prize for being the first kid in 15 years and 11 months to break a bone"

I think he is still waiting for his prize!

So next week we will be visiting a hand/orthopedic doc to see what if anything else needs to be done.  Never a dull moment when you have kids! 

Happy New Year All!!

The other night I asked son1 to start a fire, of course as usual I was the only one who though it was cold--I always think it is cold-- anyway the topic of conversation changed quickly and Son 1 asked me how I had ever survived Vermont in the winter.  When I told him, I used to where shorts in the house during the winter, I thought he was going to fall over.  I still don't think he believes me...

You have to understand that I have never worked at a place where people have blankets on the backs of there chairs, or are wrapped up in them in the middle of the day, but now that I understand the vicious battle that is raging on at work, it makes a little more sense, I think!...The heat and the air conditioner just can't figure which one is in charge..They each want to be in charge, but they just haven't learned which one needs to be in charge during which season....The heat comes on at 70 degrees and warms things up nicely and when the building temp reaches 73 the air conditioner comes on and cools it down.  This goes on all day. Kind of like that saying if you don't like the weather wait a few minutes.  YUP if you don't like the building temp just wait a few minutes...

Traditions or Things we do??

Our Christmas Traditions:

1. Around Thanksgiving time we put the number 1-4 in a hat and each child draws a number beginning December 1, that is the advent calender opening order.  The order is written on the calender so if there is a question/argument it can be easily solved.

2. On Christmas Eve we have an open house.  We invite all of our friends, family, people who would rather be with us than with there family, Our "homeless" friends (they are not truly "homeless" there family just lives far away and they can't be with them at Christmas).  We eat snacks and visit, people leave, more people come it is a very relaxing and fun time!  Sometimes we give out little bags of treasures to the kids, sometimes Santa has been known to show up.  We have had guests from as far away as Japan and as close as next door.
3.  We don't shower, get dressed or leave the house on Christmas Day, we nap, watch movies, read books play with new toys and eat leftovers. It is one of the quietest laziest days of the year.
4.  Our Christmas Dinner happens the weekend before Christmas, sometimes it is just us and my parents, and my brother sometimes it includes close friends.  It all just depends on how it falls together.
5.  The kids stay up late on Christmas Eve and that means they sleep in on Christmas morning, I think there has only been one year that we have been up at some ridiculous hour of the morning.
6.  Jim and I always watch "It's a Wonderful Life" together at least once.  Last year we watched it Christmas Eve after all the children had gone to bed.  It is one of those movies that we should watch once a month all year long to remind us that it is a Wonderful Life!
7.  Since we have 2 birthdays right out of the blocks in January the tree usually comes down within a day or two of Christmas being over.
8.  We celebrate Grandma's Birthday on January 1st, So she can have a roast beef meal and then on her real birthday (which she shares with Ben) Ben picks the meal and dessert.
     I have never thought of these things as "Traditions" they are just "things we do" but now that I  have had time to think about it, a tradition really is something that you do.  I can only hope that some of the "things we do" will be carried on by my children when they are older.

Today's Post brought to by.....Abraham Lincoln??

"Mom can I play baseball this summer?"
"Well that depends on when you go to Gabriel and Ethans"
"What does Abraham Lincoln have to do with it??"

I think someone needs to get his hearing checked!

The "ToothFairy" hasn't come yet..

Last week all of my children had a break from school.  We had orthodontist appointments on Monday so I decided why not follow that up on Tuesday with appointments at the dentist.  They all needed a good cleaning.  Note to self:  8:30am dentist appointments for 4 children on school break...not one of my better ideas!  We got a lovely ice storm on Monday night so our 15 minute drive took a weeeeee bit longer, as I let the teenager drive...again not one of my more banner plans!!   Anyway, Son3 had to have a tooth pulled.  Apparently the 2nd tooth was in enough to loosen up the baby tooth just enough that food was getting stuck in it and creating an abscess.  The dentist let me know he was going to "help" it a little bit.  Now Son3 has a mark on his lip because his siblings wanted to see if he could feel them pinching his lip.  Anyway, with Thanksgiving and the ice storm the tooth fairy missed our house.  Last night in the kitchen the conversation went something like this..
Son3  "Mom, the "toothfairy" hasn't come yet"  (making little quotation marks each time he said toothfairy)
Mom "Well if you don't believe you don't receive"
Son3 "You said it was because of the weather"
Mom "Well, last week that was the case, now I think it is because you don't believe"
When did they get so smart??