Right Wing Mom

Starting over. YET again. I hate that I am always starting over.

Sometimes the thought creeps into my head: “Why bother? It’s not like you are going to stick with it… you always quit”

I hate that voice.

The “voice” of defeat.

SHUT UP!

Cliche as it sounds… I’ll never know unless I try.

So….. here I am again. Not really trying anything new on the workout front, Jillian is still kicking my butt.

The nutrition front will be a RADICAL change.

The last month or so, my diet has been so bad. Just nutritionally void and icky.

I stumbled across the Paleo diet and it looked PERFECT for me.

I have some major , major issues with starches and sugar and I’ve realized in the last 2 months or so, that I also am having some issues with milk - major cravings

So… I did some digging and some research and Marc and I have decided to jump right on in.

The Paleo diet, also called the Caveman diet is supposed to take you back to the way our “caveman” ancestors ate. Well, let’s start off by changing the name…. considering I’m not really in the evolution group - Marc and I have decided to call it the “Post-Flood” diet

Here are the basics. First off the No’s - No bread, grains, sugar, dairy, legums and tubers

Thats a lot of no foods. Bread, rice, pasta, sugar, corn, potatoes, beans, peanuts, milk, yogurt and cheese.

Yikes.

But - plenty of protein, veggies, fruits and nuts!

Breaking it down… its eating as clean and natural as you can.

There are a few reasons for going to what some may consider, extreme.

First, of course…. is weight loss. I want to lose weight. Plain and simple.

Secondly and more importantly, is health. Following this diet will allow my body to detox and heal its self. Let’s face it… I’m 37 and as much as I want to say “I don’t fell 37″ the truth is… I kind of do. I’m tired. I’m achy. I’m bloated. I’m sore.

My body is just not working optimally. That is pretty darn pathetic.

Marc and I have committed to doing this for 3 months. We will be traveling in October and want to be at our best.

It will be interesting and challenging.

I will keep updating here and let you know how it’s going and what, if any changes I am experiencing.

Please feel free to ask any questions!

Guess what?

It’s Friday night…

And I’ve got a hot date…

With my Husband…

Our first one in…

well, the last date we had was around Valentine’s day…

2008.

Yeah, Emma was in the sling. She was about 8 weeks old.

Tonight Luke will be in the sling. He’s 7 weeks old today.

All thanks to Aunt Haley!

Thank you Aunt Haley!

I feel like I should start out apologizing once again for neglecting my blog… but seriously? That’s getting old. Truth is, I’ve been busy and the computer I usually blog on is upstairs and well…. I try not to go up those stairs very often right now, being as big as a house and all.

So - I’ve decided to do something novel… update my blog from the laptop. Genius, I know! (not sure why I didn’t do this earlier!)

Now that that is all over - back to the title of my post… WAITING.

Today is my due date. Luke’s due date. Luke is still residing in my belly. Am I ok with that? I am.

Yeah, I wish I could be holding the little bugger and on my way to getting back to “normal” but, I discovered a feeling yesterday morning while brushing my teeth. Selfishness.

You see, as much as I want to be holding and snuggling and nursing Luke and as much as I know there a ton of people who wish to be doing the same (well, minus the nursing!) at this moment in time… for just a few more precious moments… I get him ALL to myself. I don’t have to share. Everything he does, everything he is, its all mine.

Going into this pregnancy I knew that it would probably be my last and I swore I would try and enjoy every moment, every single moment. I think I have pretty much succeeded in that. And although with every passing day and night I am getting a little more uncomfortable, I am still enjoying it. Every roll, every kick, every hiccup.

One more thing - a realization.

Marc will (hopefully) be catching the baby. This is something he has wanted to do since we first found out we were pregnant with Katie and Mandy. Of course, having had all our previous children in the hospital, he was always told no. We didnt even think to ask about him catching Luke, but when our midwife Cathy came to our house a few weeks ago for our home visit, she asked him if he wanted to catch the baby. The look on my wonderful husbands face was priceless! His eyes just lit up! I am so excited for him and for Luke. The first touch our new son will experience will be be from the loving hands of his Father. How cool is that?

So, as you can see I did not fall of the face of the Earth. I just haven’t been in much of a blogging mood and when the mood has struck I can’t think of anything profound to say and for some reason, I felt like I needed to be profound. (and write really long run-on sentences too)

I can’t believe its December! Holy cow! Where did this year go? Did you know that my little baby Emma will be one year old Tuesday? Weird huh? It makes me want to cry.

In other news, our trip to Slidell was great! We had a wonderful time catching up with some old friends and meeting some new little ones that have been added the past few years. Jake made a two new friends, Wyatt and Jeffery. Kaitie and Mandy got to spend the night with their friend Emily.

The whole reason for our Slidell trip was to visit our friends, Adam and Andrea and their little one Aashini. You should really check out their blogs. They are living in South Asia and doing some awesome work for the Lord. Don’t tell them I said so this… but they are kind of like my heros now

They have actually inspired us to do something cool this year for a family Christmas present! We are going to sponsor a child through Compassion International! If you aren’t familiar with this organization, please check out the link!

Also… if you are looking to do a little extra giving this time of year, may I suggest International Mission Board. This organization helps people just like Adam and Andrea to help spread the message of the Gospel. I bet by doing this… you can pretty much guarantee that you will not be on the naughty list this year

And finally… Thanksgiving! What a great day We had some wonderful friends come over and ate way too much food. I was actually thinking of taking some pictures of the feast, but I totally forgot! (Just like I totally forgot to take my camera to Slidell - duh!) But, I will tell you what I prepared! The menu was:
Fried Turkey (Marc took care of this and did a wonderful job!), Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole (from scratch… and oh baby! Yummy!), Corn Bread Stuffing, Yankee Stuffing (what I grew up on) and Honey Butter Rolls. For dessert we had Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie (another killer recipe!) Please let me know if you are interested in any of the recipes

One of my favorite ways to spend a day at Disney is to hang out in Hollywood Studios (formally MGM Studios.) You will here a group of people that are referred to as Streetmosphere. They are a group of improv actors that go around and entertain. Some have skits, some just interact - they are all great!

I will let you in one a little secret… Marc has a little crush at HS. She is a “world-renowned actress” probably a favorite of your “great-great-great Aunt.” Her name is Dorma Nesmond.

This little crush started one our first Disney trip. We were sitting on the curb, waiting for a parade to start when Ms. Nesmond walked up. She tried to engage us in discussion and I was mildly surprised when Marc started acting back with her. It was awesome!Every time we go back, Marc can’t wait to run into her.This picture was especially funny! Marc walked up to her for a picture, he was wearing a Grumpy t-shirt. She says “Dahling… Are you grumpy?” Marc, withour missing a beat says “I was until I saw you” LOL!!! I’m telling you, I think my man missed his calling!

Another Lady we ran into this year (new for us) was Lady Tremaine - Cinderella’s step Mother.

She had me laughing so hard! She commented to Marc how their hair was so similar. LOL!!! The she asked him if he had lots of money ( that gold digger!) He commented: “I did before I came here” She fired back in a most sarcastic tone, “AH yes, memories, memories… what fun, happy, happy” Oh Boy! That had me rolling! Then she started getting a little flirty - so I had to tell her “Hands off Girlfriend! He is taken!” She then turned her sites on Jake for one of her daughters.

I love interacting with the characters!

Oh… and one last Lady for you.

Is she her Father’s Daughter or what?

Marc’s phone has been dying a very slow, painful death. Saturday he decided it was time to get a new phone. I freaked out when he said he was getting an I-Phone! I can’t believe my former “Mac’s stink” man is quickly coming over to the “dark side” lol!!! What really floored me was when he said he was getting me one too! So exciting!!!!!

Here she is:

Complete with a hot pink hard case, cause every girl needs a hot pink case to her cell phone right?

I have been having way too much fun with it. Its got tons of little applications you can download. I’ve downloaded some games and even a Bible app! Yep - got my daily bible reading in! Ha-Ha! So crazy!

Now… I need your help. I have to find a good ring tone. It’s some some decent ones already on it, but I am thinking about a song. I have always wanted a song for a ring tone. But, I have no clue!

So - based on what you know about me, what would YOU pick for my “theme song?” What would you pick for YOUR theme song?

I am ashamed about my lack of blogging. But, gosh darn! I have been so busy!!! Seriously! BUSY!

Kaitie and Mandy’s gymnastics schedule has their class smack dab in the middle of the day. We are trying to finish up 3 different school books before our Disney trip, so we are hitting school kind of hard still and Emma is getting very active! Busy, busy, busy.

Father’s Day was very nice here. We woke Daddy up with breakfast in bed. Eggs, bacon, blueberry waffles, iced coffee, orange juice and the Sunday paper. We all had a great time making it and Daddy had a good time enjoying it

After breakfast, we all packed up and headed out for church. After church we came home and Marc and I spent the afternoon watching some movies and TV. For dinner we had Strip Steak, garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. For dessert I whipped up some Chocolate Lava Cakes - oh my! They were YUMMY!

We usually get Marc a picture of the kids and I for Father’s Day, but I just haven’t had a chance to get it done. Hopefully this week

Yesterday was Marc’s birthday! Thank goodness! He is now as old as I am! Those 47 days between my birthday and his are horrible! LOL!!! He always reminds me how much older I am! Thankfully, it only lasts 47 days!

Sadly, we didn’t do anything that special yesterday. That busy thing again. The girls has gymnastics. Emma had to get her immunizations and Jake had a doctors appointment on the other side of town. But… we did get a chance to go out for a fabulous meal! We went to a great restaurant called Taste of Texas. We had heard so many great things about it and had tried going before but the wait was like over 2 hours. YIKES! Thankfully we got their early and beat the dinner crowd. We walked right in, but about 30 minutes later the place was packed! It was delish! Big time!!! I can’t wait to go back sometime.

When we got home we had dessert and gave Marc his present. A GPS that he has been asking for for a year! He was very happy!

We made some Red Velvet Cake that is good, but not quite as chocolate-y, as Marc would have liked it. I was a little disappointed, but it was the first time I’ve made one from scratch. I’ll have to give it another whirl! I hate it when I bake something and it doesn’t turn out, I get a little obsessed!

I have some housework calling my name! My Dad is coming down tomorrow for a week! I can’t wait!! We are all so very excited! I just love my Daddy and can’t wait to spend some time with him.

I feel like I need to apologize for not posting as much… but something has become very apparent to me. I am busy. Wow. I can’t believe I finally admitted that, but it’s true. I have become a very busy person.

The last week (and this next week too) are filled with end of year stuff for the girls. Their speech class and American Heritage Girls. Gymnastics has taken a jump too. They are trying to learn all their skills for the next level before the end of the month and they are getting ready to switch to their summer schedule. Marc is going to Canada for a week next month. Jake is well… you know Jake Emma is requiring more attention and entertainment. And we are trying to finish up with all of our homeschooling and trying to figure out the “master plan” for next year. I can’t believe Jake will be in Kindergarden. YIKES!!!!!

I think us passing germs back and forth to each other the past 3 weeks has not helped much either. Thankfully the kids and I are all better, Marc on the other hand is now battling strep. Yuck!!!

I will try and post a little more often. They will probably be shorter posts… but I will try

Oh - and to help with the business, today Emma decided that it would be a good idea to roll over from back to front. Oh boy! She now rolls over both ways and can sit up on her own. I am thinking that me hoping for a late walker is probably not going to happen. Katie walked at 9 months and 3 weeks, Mandy at 10 and Jake at 10. Yes, I am delusional.

Duh - sometimes I just can’t think of a good title.

So, where have I been? It’s been 12 days since my last post. Hmm, good question. I have been busy, sick and dealing with sick people.

A funny thing happens when you start taking your kids to the gym child care… they bring home lots of icky germs. Marc is on his second round of a cold. I had the sniffles, not too bad though. Got a lovely root canal last week, ok that would be sarcasm… but I must say - Nitrous good Now, I am dealing with Pink Eye. (all together now) Ewwww! Nasty! I am now trying not to pass it off onto the rest of my family. Emma had the nasty’s week. She had a bad fever for 2 days and was just so miserable. She is better now, but has a stuffy nose which means she is not sleeping very well. which means I am not sleeping very well.

We finally got the girls furniture for their room! Yeah!!! We went ahead and got Jake a new bed too. He had been sleeping in the crib still with one of the sides taken off, kind of like a day bed. Poor kid - he is in a big boy bed now Emma made the transition into the crib (with the side back on) and she has her own room now too - well sort of… we stuck her in the closet But, hey - we have a HUGE closet! (that makes it sound a little better right?) LOL!!!

We spent a few days last week putting the furniture together. I have a love/hate relationship with IKEA. Great stuff, real good prices… pain in the booty to put together. I would like to say you can sit back and have a sense of accomplishment when you are finished, which I do, but there is a part of me that thinks “Man, I should have paid someone to come out and do this”

We saw Iron Man last week - good movie. Yesterday we saw Speed Racer. I really liked it. Awesome visuals - the cinematography was out of this world! Jake was on the edge of his seat during the race scenes - very cute.

We had a nice Mother’s Day here. Poor Kaitie and Mandy hate that I get up so early and I have to go “back” to bed for breakfast. So - those awesome girls set their alarm for 5:30 - woke Marc up at made me breakfast in bed. LOL! They were so tickled that they got me still sleeping. I had a yummy bagel with cream cheese and Marc made a gorgeous omelette. Seriously - it was picture perfect! And yummy too! For dinner we went to Outback with 3 very tired, grouchy kids who didn’t eat much. Marc and I had fun though! On a funny note, Kaitie tried to order a T-Bone for her meal. LOL!

Oh, one more thing - my baby is now sitting up on her own! What a big girl!!! And she is starting to learn how to wave bye-bye. Very funny.

Pictures? Oh yes - I’ve got em. In the camera. So - I need to get them off and upload them. Today? I hope so. (no hating!!!)

Happy Belated Mother’s Day to all my wonderful Mommy friends!!!

A few days ago my friend, Misty, asked what happened to my Monday Morning Accountability posts. Hmm, what happened? Well, as I have done may times in the past - I fel flat on my face, sad ain’t it?

But, because I am a feisty red-head… I don’t stay own very long!

Let me back up a minute and try to explain things.

Kaitie, Mandy and Jake were all summer babies, so buy the time spring/summer came around, they were all on solid food and starting to come off breastmilk and my body had kind of bounced back into shape. Not so with Emma. Having a baby in December, kind of messed my up a bit. Here it was getting warm and I needed to start doing something about my body. Usually I would start some crazy workout and/or some funky eating program. Not an option this time… and I started freaking out. I knew I had to do something, but I could do anything “radical” like I normally would. So, I starting freaking out and well, my head just wasn’t in the game.

Fast forward a few weeks. Marc and I have spent a great deal talking about getting older and what our life is going to look like. We came to a sad realization, that we are heading down a really bad road. A road filled with medications, messed up hips, no energy and more than likely an early death. Man - that is scary! We decided that we don’t do not want to grow old that way. I want to be that fiesty grandma! Not the oxygen carring/walker need’n grandma - yuck! Who want’s that?

I think it finally sunk in… you only get one chance. So - instead of all the fads and craziness that we are used to, we are going to try and do it the right way! As funny as that sounds, it is huge for us!

We started 10 days ago. We both joined BiggestLoser.com and are kind of following that program. Lots of cardio, weights and watching our calories. As of last Friday I was down 4.6lbs and Marc was down 1.5 Slow and steady this time!!!!

I think I actually lost too much and was having a small issue with my milk supply. but, I bumped up my calories for this week and hopefully I will still lose!If you are interested, I will do my accountability posts again, just let me know! I don’t want to bore ya’ll!