Off the wagon

Okay, I really really don't want to write this post. But I think at this point it might be one of the things that will help me most. Over the past 2 months (basically since right before we went to get Quinn) I've put on 5 lbs. In some of my glory days I could have done that in 2 days. So 2 months doesn't seem so bad (smells like justification, doesn't it?) HOWEVER, that is the limit to what I will allow myself to gain.

And at this point, it is all that Weight Watchers will allow me to gain!

If you are unfamiliar with how WW works, you eventually get to a goal weight. Once you stay at the goal weight for 6 weeks of weighing in, you become a "Lifetime" member. This means that you get to attend meetings for free *as long as* you stay at your goal weight. Weight Watchers is rather generous because they also give you up to 2 lbs. over your goal weight as a little grace coverage. But anything over that, you have to start paying again.

Last September, I reached my Lifetime status. And I've managed to stay roughly 4-5 lbs. UNDER my goal. So with this 5 lb. increase I am back up at my goal weight (I still have the 2 lb. grace weight before I have to pay.) I have to weigh in once a month in order to keep my Lifetime status. My next weigh in is two weeks away. I'd really like to lose a few pounds before I have to weigh in.

So, the point of this post other than to whine, complain, feel sorry for myself and blame these 5 lbs. on Quinn? Really, its to light a fire under my ever expanding buns! I figured if I let you know what's happening, I'd be responsible to give a report on my next weigh in. Here's been my biggest issue, (other than eating whatever I want to dull the ringing in my ears from these deafening children. oh. and Funnelquest '09) I have not been going to meetings. For me, meetings are key! Even though I rarely learn something new (not because I'm so smart or have it all together, but rather, I KNOW what I'm suppose to do- I just do otherwise) it is SO good to be around other people with a similar struggle.

I feel like I have so much on my plate right now. Days are filled morning 'til night. I was able to make it to a meeting from time to time on a Saturday morning but now Olivia starts ballet classes Saturday mornings until November. And honestly, I used to roll my eyes when people said they were too busy to get to a meeting. I used to think, "Quit making excuses, do it for yourself. If you love yourself and want to make an investment in your future, find time to go to a meeting." Ummm... sorry about that!

I HATE that I'm back here again. Pride comes before the fall! The quicker I realize that this will probably always be something I struggle with and I should NEVER eat 1/2 cake, even if my weight is "down", the better! Sigh. So, today, I'm climbing back up onto the wagon, getting out my points calculator and my tracking sheet and am NOT going on a diet, but AM getting back to smart eating.

Hey, if you're looking for me, I'll be in the corner, hunkered down with some Smart Pop (its 0 points after all!)

Our newest chapter

School.

Back in the spring we decided to put Olivia in our Public school system for pre school. A risky decision at best. But one that we've mulled over for years and that I personally have considered long before I had kids.

Which is truly ironic since I never spent one day of my life in a public school.

But as a person whose life is completely engulfed in the Christian world (for better and for worse) I thought I would like my children to be exposed to life outside of our Christian bubble. With the understanding that the first time I feel as though she is being "indoctrinated" or bringing home values that go against our own (that we can not talk through) she's outta there.
I sometimes contemplate, if all the Christians put their kids in Christian schools, who are left to be the lights? Now, maybe that should not be the job of this 3 year old... and I am very willing to say I've been wrong and put her into our local Christian school if I find we've made a mistake, but for now we're gonna give this Montessori school a chance (and at $25 for the WHOLE year, them are some good chances.)

I know I'm a *bit* biased, but if you were a preschool teacher, wouldn't you just love having this little thing walk into your classroom?

Steve dropped her off this morning at 7:45 and she was all confidence as she walked out the door. She looked over her shoulder and yelled, "Bye, mom." Apparently she didn't want any help from Steve UNTIL she got out of the car and it was time to walk up to the school. Then things got a bit dicey.

I guess she cried a bit when the teacher came and greeted her. But being the professional that she is, Mrs. S whisked Olivia away and introduced her to another girl in the class named Olivia. Steve snuck out the back and away we went.

My morning was normal, we went to the Y and it was nice just having the two boys. Dare I say quiet? quieter? I did get a bit misty eyed at one point when Turner looked over his shoulder in the van to O's seat, pointed and said, "Sister?" There was definitely an Olivia mouth sized hole in the car!

After getting home from the Y, the boys had about 1/2 hour to play (and I had a 1/2 hour to fold laundry) and then we loaded back up to get O. The boys were a little less than thrilled to be piling back into the van so soon. Well, they better get used to it 'cuz this is the new normal. Nothin' that a few fruit snacks won't cure.

And this is what we found waiting for us. A smiling Olivia. She was pretty proud of herself that she "already ate lunch so I don't need any when the little boys eat, okay mom?" I've been trying to pump her for information all afternoon on what went down at the school. No luck. In fact, as a little after school treat I let her watch a bit of her Barbie movie and when I kept asking her questions about her day she finally looked me dead in the eye and said, "Mom, can you please just let me watch my movie?" Then she got up and moved herself to the sofa where she could hear better. I guess this is all pay back for the years I gave my mom garbage answers about school. Oh well, and the beat goes on.

laboring day

Other than a "wee" bit of a mess at the end of the day to clean up...

(or more accurately, I made the mess and Steve cleaned it up)...

it was a perfectly lovely labor day and "end" to summer. Minus the rain. And the yelling and screaming kids. And the fact that my baby starts 5 day a week pre-school tomorrow. But whatever.

This sweet scene of Olivia and her best bud, Ava, is one I want to ingrain in my mind forever. These two little girlies are pure sweetness.

Their brotherly counterparts are a different story. Because of the aforementioned rain, we kept all 5 kids inside for the afternoon and the Koproski brothers were particularly loud and cranky. And violent. Oh well. Good thing Ava's daddy, Matt, is in on duty here! So although summer is unofficially over and my whites are to be retired, I feel like we might still squeak a bit of summer fun in a little while longer. I'm just not ready to let it go yet. Although, I am itchin for some fall festivals (dare I say FunnelQuest '09 continues???)

Closing out summer

I LOVE holidays. All of 'em. From the big dogs like Christmas to the more forgettable ones like Labor Day (I say forgettable because I'm pretty sure it was just last year that I finally learned Memorial Day is in the Spring and Labor Day is in the fall... right?) But maybe what I love most of all are the 3 day weekends that come with holidays.

Although, I'm realizing that there really is no such thing as a holiday nor a 3 day weekend when you're a mom. Its really just another busy day. But at least Steve is home to share the load.

With Labor Day as the "unofficial end of summer" (isn't that the ugly stepchild of all holidays??) I find it to be a rather depressing holiday. But a good excuse for one last swim, one last picnic and one last funnel cake! (I'm hoping to make it to a festival this weekend and get me one, I hope you do to.)
But this year for us, Labor Day goes down in history books as the weekend Quinn got to meet Bebe and Paw. (Unfortunately, I don't actually have a picture of that event, but here are Bebe and Olivia posing in front of some mums at Giant Eagle because O said to me, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a picture of me with these flowers?" Nice, O!)

The visit couldn't have gone any better. Because of some health set backs for both of my parents, they have been unable to come and visit us since Quinn arrived from China. And we've been a bit reluctant to travel with him so early. Every "expert" says you shouldn't disrupt a newly adopted child's environment too soon. Once again, Quinn has gone against all expectations.

He did amazing!!! He jumped right in at Bebe and Paw's. I'd say he was a bit shy/nervous around the new people for a few hours. But as far as the house/toys, he acted like he'd been there a dozen times. As far as sleeping... like a champ. Honestly, this is one of the most adaptable kids I've ever met. God has really placed within him a security and a bond because he continues to go against all of the warnings. It was a super fun 2 days and honestly, I think we were all sad to leave. (We just wanted to do the 1 night as a test run. Next time, I think we'll stay for 2 nights.) It continues to amaze me how Quinn has fit into our family and I know that is not just "luck." God has placed the lonely in a family. And it is good.

How much is that doggy in the window?

When we got home from our adoption trip to China we got some really sad news. The kind that you just can't seem to get out of your mind or shake. Our kennel has gone out of business.

You see, we've had our dog, Baxter, going on 7 years. And in all honesty, he's a real pain in the rear. (That's putting it mildly.) Baxter *might* be mentally disturbed and if you've ever met our dog, you know I do not exaggerate on this one. So we've pretty much burned most of our dog watching bridges over the years. And with the cost of kenneling a dog (and as often as we're out of town... and read we've burned ALL Baxter bridges, including family bridges... he's no longer invited to our families' homes and we don't blame them one bit) it's hard to find a reliable kennel that we can also afford.
We don't need a pet resort, we don't need a place where Baxter can watch movies all day (I kid you not, one place I called assured me there is a tv on in his room 24/7) shoot, he doesn't even need a blanket or a toy. Throw some kibble his way and a bowl of water and he'll be great for 2 nights. (Calm down, don't call PETA on me, I'm just saying poor Baxter has his rightful place on the totem pole 3 kids and 7 years later.)

So, after much research and lots of calls, we decided on a kennel that is about 25 min. from our house (our old kennel was about 12 min. door to door. *sigh* *tear*) but is right off the highway that we take to visit my parents and is right on the way. AND they also have Sunday pick up. A huge perk that many other places don't have. We thought we'd give it a whirl.

When we dropped him off Friday morning on our way to my parent's we had to do all the necessary paperwork for a new client. Steve volunteered. He was in there a long time. Never a good sign! Well, turns out this place is also a vet and they want all dogs to have a certain vaccine every 6 months (our old kennel accepted every 12 mo.) Don't ya know Baxter missed it by 1 month. Luckily, since this place is also a vet they can do the shot ($27), but not without an overall exam (for an additional $40) Of course during the exam they found he has an ear infection (to do further tests its another $30 and then the treatment is $42) "Do we have your permission to treat Baxter?" What the heck am I suppose to say???

"No thanks, just throw some kibble his way and we'll see you Sunday afternoon?" Of course we have to have the ear medication. So now our nice affordable kennel stay for Baxter has turned into a $200 expense for our 1 night trip. Gulp.

So as we were in a our mad dash out the door for church this morning we stumbled upon these photo ops. (Apparently, Olivia was missing her doggy and put a replacement in his stead.) Hmmmm.... this dog would certainly eat less than Baxter, he's softer than Baxter and the mess in the backyard? None! Tempting, very tempting. But hang in there another hour, Bax, we're comin' for 'ya. At least I think we are.

Foiled again

As a result of our fight on Sunday evening, one action point became dinner out for me and my friend Sally last night. I was psyched about it all day. And in true Weight Watcher's form, I even planned my meals around the treat out. We arranged to meet up at the Greene (an outdoor shopping "towne" where there are lots of choices.) We also chose the wise hour of 6pm where we could prepare dinner, yet not have to endure its wrath.

After a quick purchase at Stride Rite (thanks, Bebe!) we landed on Bar Louie's. They have the yummiest Sechuan boneless wings. And in an attempt to throw all caution to the wind, I switched over to the grilled veggie wrap at the last minute, my first mistake.

I assure you, all of these lame details are necessary. or not. Sally and I enjoyed over an hour of enjoyable, fun and best of all, uninterrupted conversation. So refreshing for my soul. And then, IT happened.

We were gearing up to pay our bills and all of a sudden- out of NOWHERE- I started feeling not right. A short 3 minutes later, as we were heading out the door of the restaurant, I told Sally that all of a sudden I was feeling nauseous. Our plan was to walk it off and let the fresh air do me some good. By the time we had walked about another 50 yards I decided to sit on the sidewalk for a moment (real classy.) It was then I realized, I was going to need a bathroom. We took a quick inventory and It was about a 5 minute walk to the nearest one. She grabbed my bags and I concentrated on making it there.

Sweet Sally held my stuff while I made a bee-line for the nearest stall, praying the whole time that there weren't 10 people already in there. Luckily there was one lady with her daughter who was changing her clothes from a jaunt in the fountain (I must not have been THAT sick because I did have enough energy to through a judgemental thought her way... geez... it was a high of about 70, I would NEVER let my kid run through the fountain on a day like...) and then BARF.

Oh, my. I'm pretty sure even in my college heyday I did not barf in a public toilet. Gag. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Let me just say, I won't be having a veggie wrap OR feta cheese for a long long time. I'm not sure there is a good food to get sick on, but FOR SURE feta cheese is at the top of the list.

I made it back out to Sally where we sat on a bench for another good long while (with only one more trip back to the toilet) before I decided to get in the car and make a run for it. It was the weirdest thing... I barfed until about midnight, never got the chills, the aches or a headache. I had a rather good night sleep and woke up ready to go today. Go figure!

Steve's pretty sure the moral of that story is, never leave him with the kids alone in the evening to play with friends again. And they lived happily ever after. The end.

Move over Animal House

There's a new kid in town. Last night was our ministry's kick off cook out on campus and the weather was fine! Turner had his first drink at a college party, and thankfully all that was on tap was Country Time lemonade. We're hoping he'll keep it that way for the next 30 years or so!

Steve was the grill master and I was super mom running around trying to keep the kids from eating rocks, licking ashtrays and running into parking lots. Nothing says college cool like two 1 yr. olds and a 3 year old. So much for my days of trying to "blend in."

I like a lot of things about our job, but for sure at the top of the list would be all of the great role models of young adults my kids are exposed to (not to mention the multitudes of reliable babysitting options we have at our disposal.)

This is Anne and she is a senior on the softball team. She babysits for us regularly. And my kids really dig her.

One thing that was fun to watch last night was the personality of each kid come alive. Turner, the introvert and self- entertainer was happy as a clam digging in the rocks and splashing in the lemonade puddle that formed under the Igloo thermos (hey, its not a cookout without one of those!) The kid looked like pig pen by the time we had to leave.

Olivia enjoyed mingling and working the crowd. She mostly talked about starting pre-school next week. I'm not even sure what she talked about the rest of the time because she didn't concern herself with me since her fans abounded. I only know of the pre-school talk because one of the students reported it to Steve. It got a good chuckle out of the student.

As for Quinn (who is rarely pictured here, due to the fact that most of the evening he was elbow deep in a chip bag) he was a HUGE hit. His clowning around and general good natured antics stole hearts and the show. Cousin Nick (who is actually Steve's cousin from Michigan and is a Sophomore this year) stopped by the picnic and although I missed some great photo ops with he and the kids, he was a huge help in getting the kids fed and out of trouble. Thanks, Nick.

All in all, having kids at a college function is a bit of a pain in the rear, but it is really good for ministry. Even the "coolest" college guy gets all warm and goofy around kids. I plan on "using" them a lot this year :) Oh, and PS while it doesn't look like attendance was all that hot last night, there were probably a good 60-70 students who at least rolled through for a free hamburger. We'll take it!