Hot For The Holidays - Week 4

Let me start by saying that, at this rate, I should be hot for the holidays ... in 2012!!!!

I didn't weigh in last week 'cause I was on the Breast Cancer 3Day. Now, let me tell you that I did not walk, I was on the crew. The "Check In" crew to be exact. On that crew it is our job to pep the walkers up in the am and motivate them and welcome them "home" in the PM. Our particular crew chooses to do this with music. And dancing. Lots and lots of dancing. So, given the fact that I danced my fanny off from around 7am to 8:30ish am and then again from around noon til 6:30ish pm - NON STOP!!! - and filled the rest of my day with walks to the store, cleaning of the camp, drinking lots and lots of water, avoidance of the Peppridge Farm tent and snack table and drinking more water, I had high hopes of coming home to a friendly scale. Imagine my horror when that dad burned thing told me I had GAINED FIVE POUNDS!!!!!!

What the hey?!

But did I give up and run for the cookie jar? NO ... 'cause it was empty.

I did however, run for the ice cream ... a very small bowl of sugar free homemade ice cream that was the end of the container, thereby ridding the house of the temptation.

Then, by golly, I pulled up my big girl panties and got down to business. And I am happy to say that as of this morning I am only two pounds up from where I was before the weekend. Still, sadly, two pound up, but three down from Mon. Doesn't that count for something?!?!?!?

Please tell me it does, cause in searching for dinner the other day I ran across a FULL container of sugar free Edy's Fudge Tracks Ice Cream. So, please, I need the encouragement to leave it where it lies in the back of the freezer.

Have a great weekend. And, I promise, 3Day details this weekend.

At Which Point They All Ran Away Screaming "T.M.I.!!!!"

If you are here looking for my Breast Cancer 3Day post, you will have to wait 'til tomorrow. I am here today to do some venting. Oh, yes I am.

And if you are of the male persuasion, I bid you LOOK AWAY NOW!!!!!!

Seriously, ya gotta go.

RUN ... NOW!

We'll wait.

OK, don't say I didn't warn ya.

All righty ladies (and you stubborn men, who are about to run screaming "T.M.I.!!!" at the top of your manly lungs!!!), yesterday I made a mistake of epic proportions. A mistake that someone, namely my hubby, shoulda caught ahead of time. But, seein' as how he IS a man, he cannot be held accountable.

I made two appointments for the same day. Two medical type appointments. The more pleasant of the two being the evening visit to the dentist. And, please note that I - the "white knuckle, fear of all fears (except birds), kicking and screaming, once avoided it for FIVE YEARS, that's how much I loath the dentist" girl - said "pleasant" and "dentist" in the same sentence. Which should be a forewarning to the nature of the first appointment....

Oh yes ladies, I saw THAT doctor first thing yesterday morning. And I can hear ya moaning from here.

So, yeah, I started my day explaining - AGAIN - why a woman of my age does not get the regular visits from Aunt Flo. Not that I was not a popular stop on her tour. In fact, I believe I may have been one of her all time favorite places to visit. Because her visits were L.O.N.G.! Long and eventful. In fact, I don't think that there was a single visit (including the very first "getting to know you" visit - that came AT SUMMER CAMP!!!!!!) that lasted less than ten days. And, yes, I did say TEN DAYS!!!! And that was when I was on the fun pill to keep them regular and maintainable. Oh, yeah, I was that girl!!! The one who missed AT LEAST one day of school a month from 7th grade through my Junior year because I could not go an entire hour without, "ya know", through TWO LAYERS OF PROTECTION!!!!

Suck-O!!!!!

And then I had to explain, AGAIN, how it is that I have a four year old and a one year old in the midst of all of this. Because, apparently, the education process of SOME medical schools does not account for adoption.

Or manners.

Now, to be fair, I have friends and relatives in the medical profession who are MORE thank wise and polite.I'm just sayin' ... THESE brainiacs - not so much!

And THEN I had to endure one of those "talk to ya like you're sittin' at Starbucks, when you're actually DOWN THERE" kinda doctors. Joy of Joys!

And THEN - 'cause, ya know, all that wasn't enough - THEN, she asked about my WEIGHT! Seriously. COME ON!!!!

And after all that, I had to take a trip to the dentist.

Did I mention I love the dentist?

Yeah, I thought so.

So, gentlemen, you who were too stubborn to stop reading when I told you to, the next time a girl says "run away", I bet you'll be more inclined to listen, huh?

Can't say I didn't warn ya!

Have a great day.

And, by the way, I am now on my way BACK to the doctor's office for blood work.

And the hits just keep on comin'!

Picture Perfect Monday - A Weekend With 4,000 Of My Best Friends

***Please note - I did not have a camera, these photos are all taken with my CELL PHONE!!! Please do not mock the quality of the photos!***

Here are a few glimpses of my Breast Cancer 3day weekend ...







... but you will have to wait for the details, cause I am one tired sista/siesta.
Suffice it to say that it was Blessing upon Blessing and then topped off with, ya know, BLESSINGS!!!!

Little Pink Tents

This weekend I am going camping. Camping in a little pink tent that will be sitting in a sea of little pink tents. A sea of little pink tents in the middle of the city. Tents full of people nursing sore feet, aching bodies and blisters. Lots and lots of blisters. Blisters that come from walking, BY CHOICE - twenty miles a day for three days straight. And other little pink tents full of people who - BY CHOICE - will get up around 4AM (or earlier) each of those mornings, brave the chilly fall air and fix breakfast for a gajillion people, ride out into the streets to blaze a trail for the walkers, set up places for them to nourish their bodies, bandage their blisters and rest on that trail and set up fun spots to send off, encourage along the way and welcome the walkers back to their little pink tent homes.

Why, you may ask, would somebody - much less a few THOUSAND somebodies - subject themselves to that? Because we are desperate to put an end to Breast Cancer. DESPERATE!!!

Some of the people I will be camping with have had breast cancer. Some are fighting it now and have chosen to camp and walk and/or crew in between their chemo treatments! Some have some one they love fighting it now. Some have some one they love who have beaten it. And some, like me, have some one they love who have lost the fight.


I will do absolutely everything in my power to make sure that these two little girls (well, not so little anymore!!!), who are faced with growing up without their mommy, do NOT have to face growing up in fear.

I do it because Paula was my very bestest friend in the world. Because her children are two of the most delicious girls on the planet and I love them so very much. I do it because I have two little girls who's family medical histories are sketchy at best and I want them to be protected. And I do it so that NOBODY else has to feel the pain that comes from watching a loved one suffer this stinky disease.

I do it because "Everyone Deserves A Lifetime".

Please say a prayer for us this weekend. Those of us on the crew will be starting on Thursday and the walkers on Friday. Please pray for nice weather, safe conditions, good spirits and A CURE!!!!!!!!!!

***UPDATE*** SuperModel reminded me to have you pray for Hubby & the kids (DUH!!! Thanks SM!), as well as all of the other families at home!***

Thank you so very much! Don't know if I will be back before Monday....

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Picture Perfect Monday - Run Aways

Hattie has found a little freedom now that she rides a bike (these pics show her trike 'cause the bike was stuck behind big stuff and mommy couldn't get to it), so one day last week she decided to run away from home ...

... and OF COURSE Sophie decided to follow ...

... but then I mentioned I was gonna make cookies, so she came back ...

... and, LUCKILY, Sophie followed her home too!

Happy Birthday Farmboy!!!

My Love,

Happy Birthday! And, don't worry, I won't go telling everyone that it's your birthday. This is just between me and you. Promise!

Baby, you are the love of my life. You are my best friend, my partner, my hero and my champion. You are the one I would rather be with than anyone else in the world. You are my heart's desire.

This life with you is a prayer come true. When God brought us together, He Blessed me beyond my wildest imaginings. No one's love can compare to His, but your is a close second. He is the center of us and that is the way it should be, the way it will always be.

When we stood in front of our friends and family and said our vows, I could not have imagined how much more I would mean those words five years later. I promised to love, honor and cherish you. I also promised to OBEY you. My non-churchy friends thought I was nuts, and a few of my churchy friends questioned the choice as well. But I knew that it was a safe promise to make. I would never have married someone that I could not have made that commitment to. I know that your heart follows after God and you live that with your life, so I KNEW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that following your lead in life would only lead me closer to Him.


Remember in "Princess Bride" when it says that Wesley would always answer Buttercup's requests with "As you wish"? And then the narrator says "One day, Butter cup was amazed to realize that when Wesley was saying 'As you wish', what he was really saying was 'I love you'. Even more amazing was the day she realized that she loved him back." Well, that was us, you were always doing little things for me to tell me how you felt, and I was clueless. Until one day (with a little help from Paula), I realized that you loved me. And then one day (after the shock wore off and, again, with a little help from Paula), I realized that I loved you right back. And that love has not stopped growing since. So, when you asked for my heart, what else could I say but "as you wish"? You left my heart with no choice.

So, happy Birthday my Farmboy. Spending these years with you is my best gift in life. Watching you be Dad and hero to the boys and Daddy to the girls makes me love you even more than I already do. I love you more each passing day - more each moment. You are the only man in the world for me.

Forever and Ever.

Infinity and beyond.

No tag backs.

I WIN!!!!!!


Thank you for making ME feel like a Princess Bride on that day and every day since!

Happy Birthday my love!
XOXOXOXOX
Buttercup

Hot For The Holidays - week 2

OK, I was down another pound yesterday ... and then yesterday happened.

Put simply, yesterday was the single worst day in my parenting experience, and it did not end til 5:03 this morning when Sophie FINALLY fell asleep.

It is a well proven fact that I am an emotional eater, so yesterday was a baaaaaaadddddd diet day. We had made oatmeal raisin cookies this week (wheat flour and Splenda people, a girl's best friend!!! Of course, there IS the 2 sticks of butter!) and I had been resisting fairly well, but by 8pm last night, they were all but gone. And then they just kept disappearing. Hmmmm, wonder how that happens?

So, I am only down .5 from last week, making 2.9 total. Not great, but doable.

And the cookies ARE gone now - temptation bye-bye!

There ya go!

Any suggestions? Ideas? Anything? Bueller?

Caution - she's cooking

So, the other day I was making dinner. Yes, me!! And, in an effort to live up to my title of "homemaker" and/or Domestic Diva (as my man likes to call me), I thought I would do it all from scratch and go for something complicated. Something like, oh ... ya know, spaghetti. And, if that were not fancy enough for ya, I went for the whole baked spaghetti thing. And then I thought I would put it all in the crock pot and add some chicken and call it a very (VERY!!!!) non-traditional version of chicken parmesean. How very domestic of me huh?!?!?!

And, in this endeavor, I began to let my mind wander and came up with this:

Suppose that a person were making crock-pot-baked-spaghetti-chicken-parmesean-wanna-be-dinner, ya know, HYPOTHETICALLY. And suppose that person, hypothetically, decided that partially cooking the noodles on the stove top was a good idea so that they would, indeed, be DONE by dinner time.

Now, if supposed person were cooking on a gas stove with, ya know, flames and stuff, and the uncooked spaghetti noodles got away from her and fell down into the flames .... Hypothetically, do you think that the noodles would actually ignite?

AND, if the supposed noodles where, oh let's just say whole wheat noodles, do you think - hypothetically - that said supposed whole-wheat-and-ON-FIRE-noodles would stink?

AND, if supposed flaming noodles DID stink, do you suppose that, hypothetically, the smell would linger and, thus, ruin the aromatic loveliness of said crock-pot-baked-spaghetti-chicken-parmesean-wanna-be-dinner? So much so that when said domestic diva's hubby came home he would, maybe, have a very strange expression on his face, followed by actual fear when he realized that the smell emanating from the stove area was, in fact, a meal he would be expected to ingest? Hypothetically speaking, do ya think that that would be, at all, a plausible chain of events?

Not that anything like that would ever happen here.

I'm just askin'.

Ya know, hypothetically.

Answers

So, after yesterday's post Kelli asked how the girls get along. I then realized that, while many of you three readers know the scoop, the other 1.3 of you do not know all of it. SO, for those of you who have not been here since the beginning (or know me IRL), here is the Bug's story:

Sophie is, indeed, a twin. Her birth parents chose to parent one of the children and make an adoption plan for the other. I know that this does not sound conventional and many people are not a fan of this choice. And, I admit, I was not at first either and the reason we agreed to be linked to this family was in the hopes that they would change their mind and decide to let us adopt BOTH of the babies.

And then I got to know Kim.

Kim is a great lady. She has made some unfortunate choices and feels badly for the effects that they have had. That is all I am saying about that. So, when she learned she was pregnant, she was determined to do the right thing. And she was VERY excited to become a mom. THEN she learned it was twins. She knew - they both knew - that they could not "do" twins. They had neither the finances or resources to parent two babies. Kim immediately felt that God was using her to be able to Bless a couple who could not have their own child. She prayed hard about the choice and instantly, and consistently, felt peace. She chose Baby A without knowing anything about the twins - gender, size, personality, ANYTHING! And she began to pray that God would tell her who Baby B's parents would be. When she saw our picture, she says, she just knew it was us.

By the time we were close to the birth, I could no longer pray for both babies - because I knew that would hurt Kim - so, I simply prayed for God's will. And this is was what we received, so I have to feel that it was in His plan.

So, about the girls ...
They are very similar in appearance. Seeing them in person, you can see the differences and you can tell them apart easily. Their mouths are the biggest difference - they have similar smiles, but the mouths are shaped differently. And Sophie has a bigger smile in that she smile with her ENTIRE BEING, whereas Breauna is more reserved. Not that that is a bad thing at all, I am just partial to Soph!!!

They also have similar mannerisms. They both like to squeal - for no apparent reason! - loudly, drum on the table, point at random things and touch people's faces. They both shake their feet when they are excited. And they both like to eat "puffs".

They completely enjoyed studying each other. I have seen Sophie with other children and this was different. It was like they were trying to remember where they knew each other from. They would hold hands and laugh together and touch each other's face and just LOOK at each other. It was so sweet, and sad at the same time. Like they SHOULD be together and can't figure out why they are not. Bittersweet, I am telling ya. I had to fight not to cry.

All in all, we had a good time. It is so rewarding to see Kim love on Sophie and to be able to take pictures for Sophie to see later. For her to SEE the love in her Mama Kim's eyes and know that the choice was made for SOPHIE to have a life that she deserved. It was not made for Kim's convenience, but for Sophie's benefit.

And we were Blessed in the mean time.

If you have any questions, please ask. I will do my best to answer them. I know that the situation is not conventional, and in some eyes, is questionable. But Kim felt God's leading, we are completely Blessed (as Kim says, she is) to be a part of it all and the girls seem to be happy and healthy through it all. I know that some may not understand, but ours is not to reason why. Ours is just to TRUST God's plan.

Picture Perfect Monday - Gettin' Together

On Sunday Sophie and I went out to lunch with her Mama Kim and Breauna ...



... and we had a BLAST!!! (Hubby and Hattie didn't get to go because Miss Hattie woke up sick, poor baby, and Daddy stayed home with his girl.)

***Sophie is in the flowers and Breauna is in pink***

Ayiesha - FOR FREE!!

Over at Home Sweet Home you can win the new Ayiesha Woods CD.

And, take it from me and SuperModel, you WILL want it!!!!!

So, hurry, go now, enter.

Ummm, why are you still here?

Look, if you won't enter for yourself, enter anyway and then GIVE IT TO ME!!!!!

*sigh* I love Ayiesha!

Then Sings My Soul - What A Wonderful World

I had intended to post this song last week, but with the craziness of getting ready for Miss Sophie's b-day and adoption LUAU, time got away from me. SO, I am trying again ...

This song has a bit of the Hawaiian feel - well, OK, a LOT of the Hawaiian feel - which is why I picked it. Because we were having a LUAU that day!!! PLUS, it is "Wonderful World". And Miss Sophie has CERTAINLY made this place a more Wonderful World!!!!

A MUCH more wonderful world!!!

So, this one is for you Bug! We love you so!



If you want to hear more Soul singing music, visit Amy at Signs, Miracles & Wonders.

Hot For The Holidays - week 1

So, I have a step son getting married on November 14th. Weddings mean pictures and pictures mean no hiding the extra weight. So, I joined the "Hot For The Holidays" party at Baby Tea Leaves. Every Friday we will weigh in as a group and give our results for the week. Join us if you would like. OR, just keep me accountable!!

If you come here on a Friday and do not see a post - call me on it. If you come here and see that I have lost weight - whoop it up for me!!! And if you come here and see that I have gained weight - encourage me, admonish me, yell at me, tell me to get off my hiney and MOVE!!! Whatever, just keep me accountable. PLEASE!

OK, here we are at the end of week one. I did fairly well all week ... except Wednesday. Wednesday was a DISASTER! I was gonna eat some raw veggies. Then I saw the sour cream and onion dip and figured it couldn't hurt. Then I noticed that Hubby had been eating the dip with Doritos. Hmmm, that sounds interesting ...

Half a bag of Doritos later, I was horrified with myself and thought that I had blown it. So, when Hattie asked for the last piece of birthday cake, I joined her with ice cream. Then, I figured I needed to eat SOMETHING healthy, so I had a cheese quesadilla. Then a big fat cheeseburger for dinner and MORE ice cream for dessert - because by then I had given up for the day - rounded it all off. UGH!

However, I bounced back on Thursday and finished strong. And somehow, by the Grace of God alone, I ended up losing for the week. And, I think, losing BIG!!

Grand total for the week ... 2.4 pounds down!!!!!!

YAY!!!!!!

To Be or Not To Be ... SEEN

Well, we are back in the swing of things school wise. I am enjoying having the special time with Sophie Bug, time that I can devote to her and share with her and love on her. Then, about the time that Hattie is getting home, Sophie is going down for a nap. This means I get to have that special time with Hattie Boo. Everybody wins!

But, here is the dilemma - what about my quiet time? I want to have the time to devote to God and God alone. But, I also want my girls to SEE me devoting time to God. I want to show them that it is an important part of my life and who I am. I want them to see that it is refreshing and vital to my - and as such, OUR - security and spiritual health. HOWEVER, it is hard to DEVOTE that time to God when it is stuck between keeping little fingers from turning the page too soon, keeping bigger little fingers from "helping" mommy write in the prayer journal, breaking up fights over toys, chasing a little crawler down the hall BEFORE she gets to the bathroom (which HAS to stay open because of her big sis who is not strong enough to get the sticky sliding pocket door open on her own), and helping a four year old who wants to "read too". So, do I do it when they are up and around and can see my example, but I have to fight to get it done AND remember what I have read, OR do I get up early and do it with them NOT around? To be seen or not to be seen ... THAT is my question today.

Anyone have any ideas?

Anyone?

Picture Perfect Monday - Leaps and Bounds

OK, Sophie's b-day party pics are coming, but I had to share this first ...

Yesterday we were cleaning up from the birthday party and I moved the kitchen chairs out in the family room so we could clean the floor. I made a train for Hattie and she was LOVING it ... but then she looked at me and said "Mommy, it's airplane?" I said "Oh, is it a train or an airplane?" She said "airplane, I go see Budder, Kissy and Mindy" (those are her brothers and future sis in law in AZ).

That may not seem like much to some, but for my language impaired daughter it was HUGE!!!!!! That was two, count 'em TWO, sentences. Sentences in which she came up with the subject, conveyed her thoughts into words and answered a question ... ALL ON HER OWN!!! And, I might add, a conversation which she started on her own!!!!!!!!

OH, I am one proud mama ... and the tears, they are a flowin!!!!

And now, b-day pics!!!!!!





The cake was made by our neighbor Geri,the whale fruit bowl by our nephew JJ and the gift "cake" was from Mrs. Kathy. are they amazing or WHAT?????

(We will have more pics later, our camera was acting up seriously!!!!)

A

To my Sweet Baby Girl

Dear Sophie,

Oh, my sweet Bug, do you have a clue in this world how very much we love you? Do you feel it when we greet you in the morning with "good morning beautiful!"? Do you know that we love you when we change you and dress you for the day and feed you breakfast? Do you have any idea what you are to us when we are playing and singing and laughing with you through the day? And when we put you to bed at night - do you know that the prayers that we say over you are because we know that the only One in the world who loves you more than we do is the One who brought you to us? Can you feel how much you are loved? I hope so, because there are not words to even begin to tell you what you mean to us.

One year ago today I got to be in the room when your mama Kim brought you into the world. She let me hold you first, and I got to help them clean off your tiny body and wrap you in your first blanket and watch you take your first breaths and your first cries. I held you in my arms, totally unable to see your sweet face through my tears, and told you how very much I loved you. And I could not imagine how much more I would love you a year later. Oh, Sophie, How could I have known?

And your mama Kim - Oh Baby Girl, how she loves you too. I want you to know, and never EVER doubt, her love. I can't imagine how hard it was to let you go. She did what she felt was best for you when she let us be your mommy and daddy - and I pray that we never let her down! She was the one who felt your first movements and carried you beneath her heart while you were being developed. She chose adoption for you, because she wanted more for you than she could have given. She chose us because she felt led by God that we were "the ones". She let me meet you before you were born. I went to doctor visits and heard your heartbeat and your hiccups and watched you on a computer screen and fell in love with you, long before that day a year ago. When you were placed in my arms, it was like meeting someone I already knew and loved. And Mama Kim, she was so happy to meet you to. She loves you so much. She sends me messages asking me to tell you so all the time. And I do. And I will. Because I do too, and I want you to know that the choices made, were for your benefit. We were only Blessed to be chosen to participate. Thank you Mama Kim. And Thank You Abba Father.

Sophie, watching you grow has been such a joy. You were such a sweet, peaceful baby. You needed us for everything and we happily obliged. And now, you are becoming your own little person. You are funny and love to make people smile and laugh. You are sweet, you love to cuddle and snuggle and hug. You are energetic - you went from bouncing in your exersaucer (and I do mean BOUNCING!!!!) to crawling at record speeds overnight. I have never seen a faster baby than you. You keep mommy and daddy on their toes, that's for sure. You love to dance - and you got rhythm baby! All along, if you are bouncing to a tune, you bounce on beat. And laughing and smiling the whole time! And you do a shoulder shimmy thing that is the cutest thing EVER!!! Even now I am watching you dance to a song on the TV - after a rough beginning, you finally LOVE Sesame Street (proving that God cares about even the smal things for this mommy!!!). And oh, my love, when you smile!!! When you were brand new I knew you would be a smiler, because even then, when you smile you smile with your entire body! Your face lights up, your body even smiles!!! And seeing that smile first thing in the morning makes my day!!!! You LOVE your daddy and your sister. You have a special smile and snuggle that is only for daddy. I love to watch the two of you together. And you think that Hattie is the best thing since sliced bread. All she has to do is look your way and you light up. Seeing you play together and love on each other is pure Heaven to me. You are the first person that she has ever really interacted with (except daddy and i) in a real way. I love that you are already one of her best friends. She needed you as much as we did, I think. You have so very much to teach, and learn from, each other. I can't wait to watch it happen!

Sophie, I want you to know, that being your mommy is one of the greatest joys I have ever, or will ever, know. You are more than I could ever have imagined in a daughter. I love getting to know you and loving on you and spending my days watching you grow. You are one of my truest joys and Blessings. I hope you know that. I hope that you FEEL that.

Oh, baby girl, I love you so!!!!!

Love you FOREVER,
Mommy

PS - here are your first moments as a one year old.


I love that you are such a morning person!!!

Big Yellow Bus - And One Lonely Little Girl

Hattie boarded the big yellow bus this morning. And as happy as she was to be on that bus, well, that is about how sad Sophie was to watch her go.

Here is how it all went down:

Waiting for the bus


This shot clearly shows how she feels about having her picture taken!



Finally!!!!


And away she goes!



And here is Sophie waiting for her sister to come home :(

Kinda breaks the heart, huh!