Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Briefly

Things at our house are still a little crazy. Mom and Vannah have been approved for their new apartment, so we're just trying to figure out when they should move in. They don't have a lot to move at this point, other than clothes, but we've had several offers of furniture. Hopefully, we'll be able to pick up some things soon and help get them settled into their new place. 

The weekend went by way too quickly, with very little downtime. I'm tired. Danny's tired. Sophie is not sleeping well with all the change. But I know that I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm thankful that while we don't have a ton of extra space, we do have enough for mom and Vannah to stay with us during this time. Everything in life is time-limited...the good times and the bad times. It's been nice to have extra company this week, but when the time comes, it will be nice for us to settle back into our routine. 

I went to my WW meeting last night. I hadn't been able to go in two weeks, so I was glad to get back. I've now lost 22.2 pounds. The group leader mentioned that in the Jewish tradition, three 2's is a sign of good luck. She said that a few years ago, a man lost 22.2 pounds, went to the boat, played the second slot machine and on the second pull won $10,000. Mom and I really wanted to go to the boat last night, but didn't have a sitter. :) I know we could all use some better luck these days, so even if it's not a $10,000 jackpot, I'll take whatever is headed our way. 

We are just a little over a week away from Sophie's first birthday. I haven't had any time to work on planning her birthday party, but it won't be that big of a shin-dig, so I'm sure all will be fine. I did get the invitations in the mail before the fire last Sunday, so at least people know when to show up. I am looking forward to celebrating my sweet little girl and the week long vacation that follows. Sophie continues to grow and change every day. When I came home from my meeting last night, it was almost 7 p.m. and she was so tired. She nearly jumped into my arms, tucked her little arms between her body and mine, leaned her head on my shoulder and kept saying "Oooooo, ooooo, oooooo." It was absolutely the best part of my day.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

A little overwhelmed

Wow. This week has been really, really crazy to say the least. Mom and Vannah had a fire at their apartment on Sunday night, and basically lost everything. Mom has found some pictures and a few other sentimental items, but overall, it looks like a total loss. I took off from work on Monday and Tuesday to just try to figure out what to do. This is a new one for us. The last several years have been so difficult for my mom and the rest of the family. They lost the house we grew up in, we lost my dad, and now my mom has lost most everything that has been important to her. Vannah had a lot of nice things...cameras, guitars, movies, books, etc. And it's all gone. My heart is truly breaking for them. Mom has had her ups and her downs over the past few days, but seems to be motivated to rebuild and move forward. Vannah has taken it all in stride and has been so strong.

Until mom and Vannah can find a new place to live, they are staying with us. We don't have a huge home, so when everyone is there, we are nearly on top of each other. We've been so blessed to receive help from the American Red Cross and from family and friends. Vannah has already received a lot of clothes, and I know that there are more coming her way. I took this picture of our living room/Vannah's temporary room this morning. It's a little overwhelming, really.






I know that the days and weeks to come will continue to be difficult. Danny has been the most wonderful husband I could ever ask for during all of this. He was quick to the scene on Sunday night when Vannah called to tell us about the fire. He stayed with my mom at the hospital until the wee hours of the morning. He has helped organize donations, picking things up from folks and making arrangements for more. I don't know what I've done in my life to deserve him, but he is truly wonderful. This is and will continue to be difficult for all of us. But, like in all the trials we've faced before, we will all come out stronger and better because of it.

In other not so dramatic news, I met my first weight loss goal. My first short-term goal was to lose 20 pounds by Sophie's first birthday. As of Tuesday morning, I've lost 20.2 pounds on WW. It's nice to experience some success! I'm doing the best that I can to stick to the plan in the midst of all of the craziness. It's been difficult at times, with girlfriends bringing over Chinese food and taking me out for Mexican, but it will all be okay. Danny has lost 10 pounds already. I'm sure he will pass me up quickly on his journey.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Getting closer!

I weighed in at WW last night, but wasn't able to stay for the meeting as Danny had to make it to work. I lost another 2 pounds this week, bringing me just 1.6 pounds away from my goal (well, my small goal, with a lot more to go). I set a personal goal to lose 20 pounds by Sophie's first birthday (March 2nd). I still have several weeks until then, and am thinking I could possibly hit 25 before that time. I'm proud of the progress that I've made. Danny and I are both working hard and doing what we can to shed the pounds. One thing I did this week was give up my beloved diet coke (and diet mountain dew and diet dr. pepper...). It hasn't been that difficult. I thought I would have some caffeine headaches, but I really haven't. I've stuck to mostly water and coffee a few mornings over this week. I did "cheat" on Saturday - I had diet pepsi at my friend's daughter's birthday party and one of my girlfriends came over for dinner on Saturday night and brought with her a cherry coke zero...my favorite! Danny read an article last week about how terrible soft drinks are for you, even diet, and I just said that it was time to give it up and only have them as a treat. I think it's a little harder for him, as he is a Mt. Dew loyalist. I stole his water bottle (which was covered in dust, so I didn't think he would mind). My goal is to drink two bottles a day at work (a total of 64 oz) and then I just drink water when I go home as well.

I can't think of anything else I've done differently this week. I did have dinner at my sister's one night and we ordered Domino's pizza. I must say, their new cheesy bread is out of this world. She ordered the jalapeno and bacon kind. Oh my. It was so good, and so was I. I decided that one piece wasn't enough, but one and a half pieces were plenty. It does feel good to indulge a little and not feel like I'm blowing my plan.

I did make some baked cheese sticks for Super Bowl. Danny and I watched it at home together and had a few light snacks. The cheese sticks were pretty good. Not nearly as good as the fried variety, but they did the trick.

Saturday night, I made chicken enchiladas. I didn't calculate the points for them, but I don't think they were very bad. Normally, I add some cream cheese to my chicken enchilada mixture, but opted not to this time. That saved a lot on the points, but we didn't miss it at all. Sophie loved the chicken! I was worried it would be a little spicy for her, but she was fine with it. We also started Ms. Sophie on some whole milk this weekend. I'm mixing two ounces of milk with four ounces of formula. She hasn't had any issues, so it looks like we're one step closer to saying goodbye to formula! Now getting the bottle away from her will be another issue!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

month 11

Today, Sophie is 11 months old! We celebrated with goldfish and yogurt...it was very exciting! We also read books, she took a bath and we sang song together. It was pretty much a typical night at our house. :) She continues to be a little chatter box. Most things, she calls "cat" or "that." Today, she started saying a word that sounds like "happy," but I'm not sure what she is talking about. She's also started saying "bop," which I think she says when she wants a bottle, but I could be wrong about that. She loves reading so much! If you sit down and ask her if she wants to read a book, she'll walk over to her books, pick one out and bring it back for you to read it to her. She's also really great about playing alone. She'll sit and "read" her books, turning the pages and babbling away.

We don't take it lightly how very blessed we have been over the past 11 months. Sophie has never been sick, except for a bit of a runny nose once or twice. She is so unbelievably sweet and loving. Tonight when I came home from work, I sat down for a few minutes before starting dinner, and she would walk over to me and just lay her little head on my leg. Those sweet moments are so precious to me.



I told Sophie to give the monkey kisses...she's so sweet!


And hugs for the monkey!


Nose! 


Such a goofy girl!






After her bath...