Wordless Wednesday - Chronicle of Ethan

These are some of my favorite pictures of Ethan over the years. I have been doing a lot of looking at pictures as Kindergarten draws near.

3 days old

Happy Aggie Boy



2007 Daycare Pictures

 

Sleeping in our bed with his moose....so cute!!



Learning to walk

First snowman

Love overalls!! Love his little friend in his pocket!

 

Cousins! Ethan loves his Cousin Tyler!



First Horse Ride with Cousin Cloa!

Preschool Graduation

First Daycare Pictures, such a cute expression!

Cowboy at the Rodeo!

Shampoo Mohawk

My boys, the light of my life!!

Traffic!!

 !!!WARNING!!! I am stepping on my soapbox!!


For those of you who don't know I have  long commute to work each day. I drive 30 miles each way all on the highway. I don't usually complain about this too much because it is my choice to live far from my job. However, today I am a bit fed up with other people in their cars. Here in Denver we have been having a lot of rain and most of it has been happening right at rush hour and has been messing up my traffic. Today was horrible because there was no rain but traffic was still slow going on my way home.  I don't understand why so many people have to drive so slow in the left lanes, I feel the left lanes are for people who are going to drive at least the speed limit. 

The one thing that drives the the most crazy, and it is usually a short drive, is when people decide to yield when they are entering a continuous lane. This is the type of lane that is coming off the highway when I am coming home each night and every night I end up yelling obscenities at more than one driver in front of me. Maybe they don't know the difference between the two signs. They are very different as you can see. I am sure that all my wonderful readers would never make this type of mistake, but please share with your "bad driver" friends, a continuous lane is just that, you are supposed to keep driving as you enter the lane and do not YIELD!!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful traffic week, I hope none of you are the people I scream at while driving. The only time people are safe from my "road rage" is when my child is in my car, however, I may need to go to the dentist because one day I will grind my teeth so hard while driving they will all break off in my mouth. 

McFatty Monday Update

Well, my journey has come to another speed bump. I did not lose weight last week, but, this time I will not let it define me for weeks like it did last time. Instead of wallowing in self pity I went out and celebrated a bit this weekend. I was not really celebrating the fact that I did not lose weight, I had several parties scheduled. I ate mostly food that was good for me with a few indulgences thrown in there. I have decided that if I do throw those indulgences in there I will not beat myself up about it. In real life there are times I want to indulge and I just have to take the responsibility for it.

I think the thing that bothered me the most was the fact that I made an effort to get in more exercise and it did not change the scale. I am planning to continue the 3-30 min walks at work this week and the walks with Ethan and the dog and see if this activity will catch up with me on the scale.

In church yesterday my pastor was talking about attitude during his sermon and I was reminded that having a great attitude can change your outlook on anything. I know that my attitude toward this weight loss journey is half my battle. It is not easy and I get discouraged but if I keep my attitude leaning toward “glass half full” I will be able to complete this!

Wordless Wednesday - A Week of Pinterest

Carrot Cake

Its always a good time for cake

New Motto

Want!

Want!!

Going to Sew!!

Other New Motto!!

Check out Jenni's Blog and Join in the Link-Up

McFatty Monday Update

Yes, this week calls for a celebration. I lost 2.2 pounds and finally broke through the 15 pound mark!!!!! That 15 pounds was haunting me for several weeks with very small gains and losses, I was hovering at 14.6-14.8 for a while. 

The thing that I feel helped the most was actually putting a goal down here on my blog that you can read about here and this gives me some accountability. This means that I am 7.2 pounds away from my short term goal of 10% down by Labor day, that will be a total of 24 pounds gone forever! Yes that means I started out at a whopping 240 pounds.....and my total goal is to weigh 150 pounds. 

One reason I did not mention last week as a reason for wanting to lose weight is....I long to weigh less than my husband. If there is one thing you should know about Brian, it is that he is tall and thin and has a hard time gaining weight (he is lucky I love him so much, because I could really cuss him out about this.) Another reason is I want my BMI to be a number I am proud of then my doctor will not have to lecture me at every physical about being so heavy.  

Here are the two numbers I strive for and will love to shout proudly when they are reached: 150 pounds and 22 BMI. If you have numbers you strive for and want to shout now or someday, leave me a comment! We are all here to support each other in all of life's journeys. 

Y3W - No More Rain

So, this time last week I was talking about being thankful for the rain. Now, I am hoping Mother Nature is getting ready to dry up. We have had 8 days of rain here in Denver and most of it accompanied by other severe weather.  I would have no problem with the rain if it could manage to stay away from the rush hour traffic time. For the last week it has messed up my evening drive several times. My babysitter has a very strict pick-up time of 5:00 pm and gets very upset if we are late to pick up. This is causing me anxiety everyday on my drive home, I have been very worried about getting there on time. 

Dear Mother Nature, Thank you so much for the needed moisture here in Denver, please feel free to move that wonderful moisture on to another place, like Texas, so we can dry up just a little bit and mow the grass that has grown so tall I almost lost my dog in there tonight on our walk. Sincerely, Denver Driver

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Thankful Thursday

Ethan being an Angel in Christmas play

This week I am very thankful I live in a wonderful country. a country that allows people to have opinions and have control over their own businesses. 

I recently read a story online that said a "high end" restaurant in Pittsburgh, PA is planning to ban children under the age of 7. I don't know about all the other mommies that read this blog but I would be sure to make a reservation there for every special occasion for my husband and myself. 

Don't get me wrong, I love my son very much and he can be an angel ( <------- see over there) but when we decide to go out on a date and have a nice dinner, especially at a "high end" place, I sure don't want to be disturbed by my child and especially not by anyone else's child. 

I know there are people out there who think their children are so well behaved that they can take them anywhere. For the most part my child is well behaved when out to eat, but he can go from behaved to out of control in about 3 seconds. I know this is true for most children. I don't think it is a bad idea for all parents to leave their children at home when going out to a nice dinner, for the sake of themselves and the sake of other people who are there to enjoy their dinner. 

McFatty Monday Update

Well, last week was better than the week before. I only lost a 1/2 pound, and I am grateful that I did not gain any last week. This week my leader gave us some homework that I am going to complete here.  

Question #1 - Why do you want to lose weight and what does goal look like (not the number you want to be at for goal)?



I would love to buy this outfit in a single digit size!



Answer: To me the reasons for losing weight are many but the main reason is I want to live to see all the stages of my son's life. I want to grow old and see my grandchildren. I want to decrease the amount of medication I have to take. and I want to look good naked in a bathing suit!



Question #2 - What are your goals for the next 8 weeks leading up to Labor Day?

Answer: My goal for the next 8 weeks is to hit 24 pounds gone, and then I will be 10% lighter than I started and feeling great about the next step. That leaves me 10 or so pounds left to lose to reach this goal in 8 weeks. I know I can do it but I have to convince my brain!



Such a cute bike!



Question #3 - What do I need to do to accomplish these goals? 

Answer: The number one thing I have to do to achieve these goals is, wait for it......stick to the WW program!!!! That includes tracking EVERYTHING I eat and eating the things that are best for me. The second thing I need to do is increase my movement. I can't say the word.....exercise.... because then I won't do it!! I am not a person who enjoys the gym, I have to trick my brain into thinking it is not exercising. I have all the tools I need to take care of this, I just need to use the tools!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!! Feed your body well and lets all move a little more!! We will all feel better!! ~Namaste~

Y3W - Oh My DOG!

Ming and Ethan (18 months)

When Ethan was 18 months I got an email about a Pug that needed a good home. His owner had passed away and there was no family to take him. I jumped on the chance to get a dog for my little man! I called my hubby and asked him about it, he said we would talk more about when we got home that night. Well the doggie came to visit me at work and we fell in love. Needless to say, my hubby and I did talk about the dog that night because I happened to walk through the door with my new Pug ~ Ming.

Since that time, I have learned all about having a Pug for a dog. Because I had never owned a dog before I was unaware of some of the behaviors that dogs possessed. I thought dogs would be just as easy as a cat, only you had to walk them. Boy was I in for a surprise.

Pugs are very much a "person dog" they like their people and have to be right where the people are. In my house that is usually me, Ming has to be right where I am at all times. Ming does not play with Ethan as I had hoped when we got him. He trails water all over our house with his jowels. And he will eat anything that he presumes to be edible in our house. With all the flaws that my dog does possess (like having the WORST breath) he loves us every day and brings a lot of personilaty to our little household.

Thankful Thursday

Singing in the Rain

Today I am thankful for all the rain we have gotten as of late. Colorado is so prone to wildfires and all the rain is making the fire danger much better. I feel so sorry for all the people in other western and south western states and their drought situations. I have had friends that have had to evacuate from their homes due to fire and my hubby's family who live in Houston have seen very long stretches without rain. Even though the rain often delays my traffic, I am still thankful for every drop that falls from the sky!

Midweek Randoms - BUGS!!

Flick from Disney Pixar's A Bug's Life

Ethan is not like most boys, he is not a huge fan of bugs. He will tell you that he is NOT afraid of bugs, although Mommy knows better.

So after bedtime last night, my hubby and I are enjoying some adult quiet time in our living room. About 30 minutes after Ethan goes to bed we hear him call to us with panic in his voice. There was a "flying" bug in his room and could we come help. So, naturally I send Brian in, I don't want to find a bug. After several minutes I began to wonder if they found the bug so I joined them in Ethan's room. Brian could not find a bug, so I joined in the search. We were moving toys, drawings and looking in all the best hiding places for a bug. We were unsuccessful bug hunters and had to leave him in his room with the bug....EEK!

We left his door propped open more than we usually do to apease him a bit. A few minutes later I hear some clanking from his room and Ethan calling out "Here bug, come here bug." To which I respond, "Ethan what are you doing?" He told me that he was hunting the bug for himself and he would not go to sleep until he found it. At this point I am thinking to myself, SHIT this could be a long night.

After about 10 minutes of the clanking and yelling for the bug, I went to his door and assured him that whatever the bug was it would not hurt him.  He  then told me that it was a Jumbo Gnat, "Mommy I think it will suck out all my blood."  I assured him that if it were a Jumbo Gnat it would not bite him, sting him or suck out all his blood. He began to calm down after that but I could still hear him talking in his room about the gnat being in his closet and he was telling the bug to leave him alone.

I must say this situation has provided me with a lot of entertainment. His imagination just cracks me up and the stories he makes up are so elaborate and full of detail. These stories make up for all the trips to Crazy Town he sends me on. Love you bunches Ethan!

McFatty Monday Update - Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to everyone!! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day off and has the opportunity to spend time with your family.  My boys and I are going to spend the day just taking it easy before we head off to see fireworks tonight. 

The last couple weeks have been kinda hard with my weight loss. If you read blogs last week you will know that there was a lot of child stress in my life and it  has been quite the carbfest at my house due to that stress. I did not lose any weight the last two weeks, maintaining has been the hardest thing ever. Not that I was trying to maintain but I did my part to not lose it. 

The next two weeks are all about finding my renewed energy like I had at the beginning of this and get myself back on track to get the rest of this weight off.  I am not going to quit this time like I have so many other times, I am ready for my independence from my weight. 

Happy Independence day from whatever holds you back!!

Y3W - Bring on Fireworks

I am so excited for the 4th of July weekend!! There are so many firework shows going on around us that we will be seeing fireworks all weekend long. It is such a different experience when you have a child to watch them with. He gets so excited for them to start and can hardly keep his body still. Once they start he likes to tell us what each one looks like. This is one of my favorite holidays because there is no gift giving involved, you are just spending time with your family with good food and FIREWORKS!!

I hope everyone has a very safe and fun 4th of July!!

Check out Jenni's blog!