10/14

Family Affair -- LOL  Thankfully my hubby doesn't complain.  He grew up in a large family, so he knows that the household chores are just that -- chores.  Something to be done daily.  Even laundry!  Mostly because between kids, dogs, and the type of work he does I am doing small loads non-stop.  It's just easier than letting it pile up.  Although, I'm trying a new method this month.  I use to take everyone's clothes down at once and strip the whole house -- kitchen towels and rags, bathroom towels, baby, older, and ours plus all the bedding and any blankets.  I'm not doing that this time.  This time I took down just the dirty blankets and things and then the baby's stuff to soak.  I stripped his room down and just did his.  Then I did ours the next day.  Today or tomorrow, I will do oldest's.  So far, that's working out WAY better than trying to sort all of it, wash all of it, and put it all away in 5 or 6 different areas.  I do one room and put one room away.  I thought I'd end up doing more laundry this way, but so far if I have, it's been maybe one load.  Just works better for me!  I am so glad my hubby is understanding about housework.  On the rare occasion he isn't, he usually figures it out quick!

MsCatty --  The Dr. told us it was completely normal and that all babies learn to sleep through the night at their own pace.  The average is about a year, but with teething, growth spurts, and whatnot it can all disrupt their sleeping patterns.  And guess what?  Stuck my finger in there yesterday to get something out of his mouth and sure enough, I felt more teeth coming in.  I'd bet that is why he keeps waking up.  UGH.  So, out come the chilled chewers to hopefully give him relief.  If all else fails, I'll break out the meds like Tylenol or Ibuprofen.  I should've bought stock with my oldest who literally got ALL of his at one time.  :O  Youngest seems to be dragging it out.  He has 7 now and they are taking FOREVER.  Oh, and I love the coffee syrups!  I just don't use them as much as I use to because they are very hard to find here and I hate always ordering online.  We've used them to flavor fillings, shakes, smoothies... even breads.  LOL  Classic Vanilla is my fave.  I know, I'm weird!

I ended up having a pretty productive day yesterday even if I didn't do any projects or go shopping.  I do hope to be a tiny bit more productive than I was, but I guess we will see.  I'd really like to get some of the Halloween decorations up, but I guess we will see.  I also want to go to Kohl's later to look at some boots.  Then there's the regular house stuff that has to be done daily.  So, I guess all in all, today will be a rather boring day.  I had hoped to do some sort of playdate, but so far no one seems interested.  I don't get that.  Why wouldn't people want to get out and do something fun over Fall Break?  Especially since ours is so short.  But oh well, like I've said before, we haven't made a whole lot of friends here.  And the couple we do have seem to always be busy or sick.  BLEH.  Still going to have oldest head outside later to burn off some steam and his Dad said he may take him to the park when he gets up to go fly a kite.

Did I mention to you ladies that I had cut my hair and colored it?  I couldn't remember if I did or not...  Anyways, I went in and got a trim and it feels SO much better.  Really, the most that was cut off was my bangs.  They had grown out a lot.  I can measure how fast the rest of my hair is growing by them.  I'm going at a pretty good rate right now!  So, it was nice to go in and get a good, clean trim.  Pretty much the only place I will go steadily since moving here.  That is TWO decent cuts I've gotten and she is FAST.  So fast that I could even take the kids if I had to.  She's young, but I really feel like this is her THING because you can tell she enjoys it.  I hope she stays there!  LOL  Anyways, after the cut, I decided to go ahead and color.  I tried to find some protein spray to fill in any possible gaps in my hair before I colored, but I wasn't very successful in finding one that was not only good but cost effective.  My hair isn't severely damaged, so I didn't need any of the creams or anything.  As a matter-of-fact, she mentioned how great a shape my hair was in.  Really no split ends, not dry, and just overall healthy hair.  Even though I color and blow-dry.  So, didn't find any... didn't buy any... decided that the best course of action was to dye it brown to give me a better base and then put the red back on top to keep my red deeper.  Well, I used my dark brown and yeah... my hair is black.  It SAYS brown almost black, but it's BLACK.  I don't hate it.  I don't truly love it either but I sure don't hate it.  Honestly, it's not too bad.  Matches my eyebrows pretty close.  I only used one box and now that my hair is longer, I really do need to use two.  So, you can still see a hint of red.  My hubby has been calling it Black Cherry.  LOL  I think I may keep it this way for a bit or put some highlights in and then the red on top.  I am thinking that the dark would stay almost black like it is with a hint of red and the lighter pieces would be a lighter shade of red.  We will see.  It will really depend on how I feel about it later.  But for now, going to keep it dark and probably be a classic witch for Halloween.  TEEHEE

I noticed something annoying yesterday.  My clothes are awful.  I think if I got rid of everything that I no longer liked, my closet would be empty except for the few items I've bought randomly over the last couple of months.  Looking at my old Fall clothes from about 2yrs. ago, most of them are outdated, not what I like anymore, or just no longer fit right.  I don't know what I'm going to do.  I don't really want to spend a ton of money on new things, but I also don't want to NOT have clothes I like.  It's just frustrating that I really don't like the things I have.  Maybe I should get out today and hit a couple of thrift stores and see what I can find.  Maybe the things I have just need to be re-vamped or something.  UGH.

OH!  My weight was 192 this AM!  I think that is the lowest I've been since I started dieting since youngest was born.  I hope it holds until Sunday!  LOL  I still secretly hope to be under 190 this weigh-in, but I can be patient.  I can do this nice and slow.  :)  It's worth it to me to be a permanent change.

Speaking of, I've been reading several new blogs and trying to be supportive.  I hope that people feel I'm being supportive and not trying to shoot down their dreams.  But I do worry that some people are unrealistic in the weight-loss goals and setting themselves up to be upset.  It's great to have goals, but reality is that sometimes you just don't lose at the pace you'd like and you have to come to accept that sometimes the journey really IS the reward.  I'd rather do this right and slow and have my goal to be that I was balanced and met my plan that week than the goal of a huge loss and then being upset and falling off the wagon.  1 to 2lbs. per week really is healthy and normal.  You could possibly even do a bit more if you're really active.  But I think too many people see these diet and weight loss shows and 'success' stories and think they can drop a pound a day.  Not realizing that 1) these people usually have a HUGE amount of weight to lose and 2) they are Dr. monitored and 3) that type of eating/exercising is NOT doable in real life.  THAT is what I've taken away from those shows.  You will, once in a while, have someone lose that weight at home, but it's not often.  More often than not, the people that are successful at losing weight and most importantly successful at keeping it off, are those that are balanced and lose it nice and slow.  I'd rather be part of that category.  If I continue to live and continue to have my relaxed days but being more good than bad, I will still get to enjoy food, wine, sweets, whatever and STILL LOSE.  Will those that starved or killed themselves to get there feel the same?  Will you feel HAPPY about your journey?  Or will you look back on that time of weightloss as a time of deprivation, starving, and somewhat anger?

At one point, I think I would've been that way, but this time has been different.  Not just in counting calories but the WHOLE journey since January.  Well, really December of last year.  I've had ups and downs, but through it all I have kept going and that is the difference.  I have come  to the realization that slow and steady has got to be how it is.  I know for some that just getting it off is their goal and that's fine if that is what works for you.  But for me, figuring out a lifestyle and diet I can live with for the rest of my life is more important than immediate satisfaction.  Are there times I forget this and just wish I was thinner?  HECK YEAH!  But I keep reminding myself of where I'm going and what life is right now.  I refuse to not enjoy life right this minute just because I'm a bit bigger than I want to be.  I'm going to live my life, make my changes, and keep right on truckin' slow and steady.  I just hope I don't lose sight of that on my bad days!  LOL

OK, well, I've rambled on long enough so I think I am going to jump off of here for now and get to work on this house and some other things.  Hope you chicks have a great weekend!