6 Miles

Go to this site for a quick typing test. In the two times I took it, I had 79 and 98 words per minute.  (With 6 mistakes the first time, 3 the next.)  And that was WITH Will distracting me talking to me both times!

I'm here at home, while James is at work (it is 9:50 pm).  He is doing "Scheduled Maintance" on one of the servers, so this was planned, not something wrong. But it is taking awhile So, once the kids were in bed, I spent the evening working away (and am now taking a break). Not much different then what I normally do in the evenings, but I miss the company in the room.  So now you get a smattering of thoughts I've been wanting to share.

I know you all missed James' weekly update on the Weight Loss Challange. We had SO many requests for it…or, maybe not. I won't go into lots of details, but I had an encouraging moment last night. I was shopping at Target, and decided to try on some pants–just for a lark.  I fit into a 12!!! I wasn't quite thrilled with how I looked in them (a bit snug), but they fit! I know 12 is still large, but please understand after Alex was born, when I got depressed over still wearing maternity pants, the only size that fit was an 18. I was down to a 16 just before we started the challange.  So I am very happy to see more success!

Last night, as we were making supper, Will started telling me about how his belly was getting SO big! I did the standard "distractedly agree" that most parents have down pat.  Then he said something about having a brother or sister. That made me stop and say, "What?"  He said, "My belly is getting bigger and bigger, and I'm going to have a brother or sister!"  I then remembered we'd been reading our Usborne Book of First Experiences: The New Baby (along with Going To The Doctor and Moving House).  I had been reminding him of when Alex was born. So, I told him only Mommies could have babies.  He said "NO! I'm having a brother or a sister."  I decided to just agree with him, since it is pretty much pointless to try to argue with him. But James and I got a good laugh at it. This morning I got another laugh when Will said to me, "Mommy, Daddy made orange juice. He did a good job!"  How's that for a preformance review?

  

Things are getting rough around here!!! Alex isn't the only one hitting the bottle (or the Diet Coke, in my case). Alex has been dealing with teething, a cold, and who knows what else in the last week. As our Doctor said, "It all happens at once, and everything is very similar in symptoms." So, nap times have been hit or miss, and night times involve lots of waking up. Then Will and I had a day with the same cold. But, we're better, and Alex seems to be getting better as well. He had his 6 month check up today, and wasn't happy about his shots, but is doing great. Right now he is on the floor, alternating from sitting to rocking back and forth to grab his brother's trains. Will is out with his dad, or I'd be hearing fussing about that. I figure I'll let him play with the trains while he can!

This weekend we had a great time visiting my parents, our old church, and our NASCAR friends. We used to get together with them many weekends to watch races (Pre-Kids). She and I would talk about crafts, while the guys watched the race. It was a fun time to do that again on Sunday, it seemed like we had just missed a weekend or two, not a year since the last race we watched together. Will and Alex had fun at Grandpa & Grandmas while we did that, though they were happy to see us when we got back. We had a beautiful weekend of weather, and now, we're setteling back into the hot, muggy days that make us (or me) not want to do anything outside. So, I'll open a nice, cold Diet Coke and try to endure the time outside as Will says "Play with me, Mommy!" again.

Will: We need to go faster!

Me: We are going fast. Look, we're passing that truck.

Will: NOOOO! We're going slow. Go faster, Daddy!

James: You are not driving until you are 32.

What makes this worse? Indiana allows for a speed limit of 75 mph on the freeways, and we were going just a touch over the speed limit.  So, he likes the cars & he likes to go fast…now we just need to get him to not be scared of loud noises, and we'll have our race car driver.  Anybody want to sponsor him?

I knew my life would change once we had kids.  One of the things I DID NOT expect was how BIG the difference in laundry.  See, when I was single, living without a washer/dryer, I could go three weeks before I had to wash clothes (back when I was professional, had a large wardrobe, etc.).  I had what I called Limiting Factors. (* Limiting Factor in an ecosystem is something that will limit further growth of an organism in that system. Thanks Ecology 101!)  For me, the Limiting Factor of my laundry ecosystem was usually socks or underwear. But when you’re a single & working, you can just add to the collection to allow for a three week span in laundry. So, about once a month, I’d pack up the laundry, papers to grade or a book to read, and hang out there for a few hours.

Then I got married. My husband had fewer items, so we had more liming factors.  Yet the laundry mat was right down the road, in a small town. About every two weeks we’d pack everything up, start up the washers and go back to our apartment.  25 minutes we’d run back, throw it all in the dryer, and go home.  40 minutes later we’d go back, and franticly fold as much as we could before the owner came to lock up.  Since James knew her, we’d usually chat with her a bit while we finished up.

And now.  Oh my.  First off, with the weight changes & the loss of one income, my clothing choices are a bit more limited.  When Alex was born, I was reminded how many clothes a baby can go through.  Between the spit up, the leaks, and the attempts of feeding solid foods, Alex makes both of us messy.  And Will. We’re still going through multiple pairs of underwear/shorts in a day.  I just did SIX loads in the last two days…not because the kids have Limiting Factors (I do though), but because the piles were SO BIG. And, when I thought I was all done, and I might get a break for a few days, Alex spit up on me. Twice. And Will had another accident.  And another. And a new pile has begun.

**That's my guess at how much it cost for 4 years of private school…I think it averaged about $15,000 a year then. Of course I didn't pay that much.  But it sounds impressive, doesn't it?

When a baby gets hurt, there is a long pause (where he catches his breath) before he breaks out in a LOUD cry/scream (it's how you can tell a small thing from a BIG hurt).  Did you ever notice, the worse the pain, the longer the pause?  I'm sorry Alex, I didn't mean to let you fall over and bang your nose on the desk!  It was the longest pause I've heard him have yet…all I could do was say "I'm so sorry!" as I waiting for the impending scream.  But he's better now! He's happy now! Promise!

Hmm…How should I start this thing?

Today James & I were eating a late lunch (I fed Alex while Will ate, and James had gotten home late), while Will was playing in the living room.  Suddenly Will walked into the dining room with his two trucks in hand and said "I want to go night-night".  If my jaw could hit the floor, it would have then. This is the child who usually tells us right after dinner "No night-night, no pajamas!" and keeps it up all evening. He does not choose to go to bed.  What happened?!?

I think the sleep fairy left Alex and went to hover over Will.  See, Alex was such a good sleeper. I never mentioned it before, because the first rule of a good sleeper is you don't talk about good sleepers. It used to be, the first time he'd start to fuss I could put him in bed, kiss him good night, and the child was out.  Then he started to roll around in bed, and so he'd roll around, but eventually would fall asleep. Lately (in the last week) he is FIGHTING sleep so bad.  He will roll and scootch around, then get upset and start to fuss and cry. He works himself up to such a state! If I try to go in and calm him before that, he'll quite down until I leave the room, and keep it up. If I pick him up, he gets all cute and "I don't need to sleep" on me.  And there was Saturday night, where he was up EVERY TWO HOURS. So, if there is a sleep fairy, I'm going to ask that she go back to sitting on Alex's shoulder. I can handle Will not wanting to go to sleep. I don't mind sending him to bed to look at books or play with a car for awhile.  But the fussing, crying and screaming, as well as the attempts to rock him to sleep, that comes when Alex doesn't want to sleep?  It's draining me. 

After reading James' post, I've had the Bon Jovi song "Living On A Prayer" in my head. (Oo-h…Living on a Prayer..oo-h, we're halfway there…sorry, just had to share, incase you weren't sure how I got that song. ) 

We've had a fun, busy weekend. Saturday night we had James' boss, wife & youngest son over for a cookout. When I had planned it, I wanted to have a cook-out, so we could enjoy more room out back. Turns out this was the hottest weekend of the year, so we stayed inside.  It was a good time; it's nice, they are a fun couple to have over and there was no stress involved (Not a typical "boss over for dinner" type of event). Today we took advantage of one of our offers from a co-worker of James: "We'll watch the kids anytime!" We went out to see our first movie since December–"Pirates of the Caribbean"– and then dinner. How nice to eat a meal without all that is usually involved with two kids. And, since today is our free day, we had fun eating big, juicy burgers with onion rings & bacon on them, and fries. I'd been craving one of those for a few days now!  Oh, and the movie was enjoyable too. A bit long (as most reviewers say), and VERY much set up for the next sequal.  James said he wouldn't have noticed the time if I hadn't looked at his watch, so he didn't mind.   I was surprised at the packed theater. Do people usually go to see movies on Sunday afternoons? Or is it because it's so hot? Or was it just the movie?

As for our challange: I am pleased I have lost 2 more pounds. I've now lost 15 pounds of fat (11 on the scale).  If I can do that the second half of the challange, I will be close to my goal weight (but I'm supposed to focus on the body fat index, not the scale, because of all kinds of reasons…but I can't help but focus on the scale). So, here's to finishing strong!

I was told I was complaining last week.  I don't think so.  Wondering out loud maybe.  I think I have determined that my scale is all out of whack.  But, I think I mentioned that last week.  I have modified my stats based on past history and trends to make up for my screwy scale.

That means that I am really back on track.  I didn't lose as much on the stomach as I hope to each week but a quarter of an inch isn't bad.  Besides, it isn't the week to week changes that matter.  It is the over all changes.

According to this week’s measurements my Weight Goal is 159lbs.  That is 2.35lbs up from the start. This means my target weight, based on this trend, is 162.5ish.  I recall being 162 back in Christmas of 1999.  That is what I weighed when Tina met me.  However, it was still fat.  I have put on considerable muscle since then because I have been working out 3 months a year.   

Ohh, and I had a lady at work say that she noticed I had lost some weight.  That makes it worth it right?

Pictures:
I considered a halfway picture but I didn't have time this morning to take it.  Sorry,  guess you will have to weight two weeks.  (pun intended)

My stats:

*LBM = Lean Body Mass (the weight that ISN'T fat, i.e. muscle/bones/blood)

My graph: