Back on track!

Munching on hummus and pretzels....figured I can relax and blog a bit! We started back up with our weight loss clinic yesterday. It is definitely a step in the right direction. I am back up to almost my highest weight, which scares me. I've also noticed my back and legs have been getting more painful--possibly MS, possibly my body rejecting carrying the extra weight, possibly both... hmmm... Nonetheless, we're back on track. I went to Costco today, and it was the first cartload I have ever bought there that wasn't full of crap. I bought tons of veggies, lean meats, and a low cal cookbook to boot! Back on track? I think so. Just have to stay on track...

Liam had another great day at school--he has definitely improved by leaps and bounds since he has started, not to mention in the past few months. I sometimes worry that by going to preschool 4 days per week, versus the standard 2 for his age, would be pushing him too hard. But I think the pros outweigh the cons in this case. He is interacting with his classmates incredibly well, participates in all the activities, and has discovered his mommy's love of arts and crafts. He also enjoys creative movement, or gym class...They even have them doing dance yoga! And he'll be back to school tomorrow, even though we were seriously debating keeping him home, as he was beyond exhausted tonight.

All in all though, I love being on the go. Taking Liam to and from school four days a week, dreading my growing pile of laundry for the weekend, trying to plan various activities for Liam for spring break at the end of March, and attempt spring cleaning next week when Andy has 8 days off. My spring cleaning is basically gutting the house room by room, and exhausting myself. Then doing it again in the fall, rotating toys and books to keep Liam interested. And did I mention? I have to do healthy meal and snack planning and re-organize my recipes and kitchen supplies.... Yep, I like to be super busy... And also fix the enamel on our tub, re-do the seal around the tub... Yeah....

Back to my hummus... sooo addictively good! Thank you Costco for selling a 2 tub pack of Tribe! Til next time... eat healthy, live happy....

Welcoming The New Year

A new year always brings a fresh start, resolutions, and change. I have tried to follow numerous resolutions in previous years, but always seem to fail, so I'll go with the fresh start. I want to blog more often, definitely something that will happen. I want to take better care of my health, by losing weight, getting more active, etc. Do-able. I want to be more focused on tasks at hand, and be more organized. Could happen. Explore my creativity more. Again, could happen. But I definitely won't beat myself up over not doing these things, but I will try, that's for sure.


We had a nice, quiet Christmas. Liam wasn't too into opening his presents, but he sure liked all of his toys and books. He was especially excited about all the clothes he got too! I know, that will change once he gets older. Spent lots of time with both sides of the family, making Christmas last over 3 days! I am definitely thankful for everything that was given to us--it was very much appreciated!

We took Liam to the feeding support team at Children's Hospital a few days ago for a consultation. We are still having issues with his feeding, and decided that it was time to get help. The team was excellent, gave us great advice, and we will be going back there for repeat clinic appointments. It most likely is due to hypersensitivity, which affects not only his eating, but his hands and feet too. They are referring us to a team that deals with just that, as well as referring us to an speech language pathologist, which should help with his mouth issues. They were slightly concerned with his speech, which I am on the fence about, but we will take all the help we can get at this point. 


This year already feels different! I have more energy, and more ambition to do things. Have been doing some minor repairs and projects at home, re-did Liam's room--with his new big-boy bed!, been doing lots of cooking and baking, and so on... Been taking vitamins daily and we booked our appointment for the weight loss clinic, which is next week. Maybe 2010 is the year for change and goodness! We shall see... It will definitely be the year for blogging, that's for sure!

Cheers all!

Better Days Ahead...And Losing Pounds

So we went vomit free last night. We cut down his milk yesterday, increased his solids, gave 2 doses of tylenol, and a dose of his anti-gas meds in the evening. Seemed to do the trick. He went down at 10:30pm--I know, it's late, woke up 1/2 an hour later with a nightmare, woke at 2am to sleep with me, and we woke up at 8:15am. Rested, happy, and puke free. And, he's already down for his nap, a whole hour earlier. We'll just keep it up--it's basically guess and test with him, meaning it's alot of work. But we shall keep going, as we seem to be making progress!

Went for our weigh-in today. Andy lost a whopping 8.6 pounds--in a week! I lost 1.6 pounds, so am down 4 pounds in 2 weeks! We're definitely back on track. We did a treat mini-lunch after weigh-in, which we like to do. It definitely keeps us motivated and not feeling completely treat deprived. And moderation is key. And being active. I know that we are more successful come the warmer weather, ut we are looking into going to a gym soon, so we shall see. Should be good to see what happens in 2 weeks at our next weigh-in! And I didn't fall this time, thank goodness! Their sidewalks were completely clear and the clinic owner was very apologetic and worried for us.

We're taking it easy the rest of the day, letting Liam relax with his constant teething. Might try to get to the zoo tomorrow, as the weather is supposed to be nicer. And visit my parents tomorrow, bring up some things for storage.

Until next time.... Cheers!

A Poop In The Hand Is Worth A Million Laughs...& a week in review..

It's been another week since I blogged last. I truly mean to blog more often, then things around here get hectic, and it falls to the bottom of my ever-growing to-do list. So here goes. We are now the proud owners of a van. We had been debating this for quite some time, and it came down to the fact that, we were outgrowing our car. Grocery trips were tricky, travel impossible. So, it was time for a van. Yes, Amanda, vans can be cool. I just beat you to the coolness factor. Just kidding! We bought a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SE. It's black, big (my goodness), and fully loaded. It has 2 dvd screens, so Liam is in heaven, slide-down windows on the sliding doors, a rear back up camera--so helpful, a hard drive to save music and Wonderpets, and lots more fun stuff. It has low mileage, and is in immaculate shape. I absolutely love it! And Mr. H., it does feel like I am driving the president around! Or the mafia, I'm not sure which. Sad thing is, the first night we were driving it, we managed to get it stuck backing out in the alley. Too priceless! Thank goodness for cat litter and alot of pushing from Andy--sorry! Oh! And it has stow and go seating! I love it!

We went to the Glenbow Museum on Saturday. It was a fun morning, and Liam walked every floor of the museum. The Mavericks section was Andy and I's favorite, definitely something to check out again. And the Marilyn Monroe exhibit was definitely something to see. We will definitely be going back there, even Liam liked it. He was knocking on the display cabinets, and thinking the rock display cabinets were fish tanks... priceless...

Have been doing alot of mall walks lately, and Liam can do laps of the malls now. He has been teething alot lately, and I hope for his sake mostly, that he gets a break soon. We're still working on solids with him, and will be going to the nutrition clinic to see if they can help. He has been climbing up and down on the couch like a pro, mimicking everything we say and do (no more trucker talk around here--f$%#!!!), and playing with poop. Yes, the child who hates things touching his hands, casually reached in his diaper today, and retrieved some poop. He thought it was hilarious, I panicked. And scrubbed him down. And sanitized. And scrubbed some more... He must have thought I had gone crazy! Definitely something to remind him of when he's older... priceless...

Went to the weight loss clinic yesterday for judgement day. Christmas was good to us... so was New Year's... and any other holiday that is observed across the world. We both gained, but it was a good learning experience. So, the main thing, we're back on track. Watching portions, drinking more water, getting more active. We're planning on joining a gym downtown soon, and they allow use of the pool too, which will be fun. Am also going to take Liam swimming to Mom & Tots swimming programs twice a month, and keep up the mall walks.

Am definitely enjoying the quiet time right now. There hasn't been alot of it lately, as Liam hasn't been sleeping well the past week. It's amazing that he can take up most of a queen size bed with me... Too adorable! I'm a bed hog too, though, so it's only natural. We fight for space... and speak of the devil.... Until next time... Cheers!

Catching up...

Liam playing with the toilet paper--it was stuck to his foot when he came out--priceless!
Am trying to get back on the blogging band wagon, so have done a ton of updates on my other foodie blog so be sure to check it out. I blogged for 3 weeks worth of Sunday Suppers, so there is lots to feast on now...

Liam has still been teething off and on, but is finally sleeping better, which definitely helps. He is off to the pediatrician on Friday, so hopefully we will figure out what to do with solids and nutrition. He has definitely been keeping me busy though, and is walking more and more. Has discovered that toilet paper is fun to unroll, and is going through a little seperation anxiety. As long as I don't leave, he is okay.

Haven't been up to much lately, been doing lots of cleaning and organizing around here, getting caught up on laundry, and have even been reading. Okay, granted, alot of it has been searching through my low-fat cookbooks, but I have been reading "Shoot The Moon" by the incredible Billie Letts. The book is fantastic so far, and she has a new one coming out in a few months. Make sure you all check it out, her books are definitely worth a read!

Managed to be a klutz last night, and fall down the stairs. My foot apparently wanted to go farther than the step, and I kept going with it. Managed to stop myself by hooking my upper arm on the handrail and putting my other arm into the wall. Needless to say, both arms are bruised, and my knee and upper thigh are pretty sore, but it could have been worse. If I hadn't caught myself, I would have gone head first into the shoe rack and the door.

Am going to call our weight loss clinic to book an appointment for weigh-in. We definitely need to get back on track, and get the motivation going again! And Andy has a performance review this week. I know he'll ace it, he's a great employee, and it's been far too long since he had the last one. A raise would be good too...

Need to figure out what to make for dinner tomorrow night. Took out hamburger, so that's a start. We shall see what I can figure out. Might spend the day at home tomorrow with Liam, zone out on Wonder Pets and spin some bowls...

Should run though. It's close to 1am, and sleep should be an option... Cheers!