Almost there!!

I have almost lost 40lbs!! So close I can taste it!! I have been trying so hard and you know what? Hard work pays off!
I started this journey at a size 17-18!! I went to kohls this past week and picked up a size 11 thinking there is NO way but I want to try anyways... Well I had to buy the 9's!!! I was so proud. So proud I called Chris and came close to tears. There is something very rewarding in buying a smaller size pair of pants.
I am believing in myself and believing I can finish this journey and then just lead a healthy life.
I have my next weigh in with my trainer Thursday so let's see if I can get to the 40lb lost mark!!
Here is my "I'm so proud of myself I can't stop smiling in my size 9 jeans face"

Tenley's Duke appt

This has been such a long time coming. This appt has taken 8 months to get. Our tiny Tenley has suffered since birth. 20 long months we have waited to hear what's causing her so much incredible pain and well we might have an answer. Finally.
We made the 1.5 hour trip to Raleigh and found Duke really quickly. We went inside and was seen almost immediately, even though we were 20 mins early. Well we are use to waiting for an hour after your appt so this was like the royal service to us.
We had the nicest nurse ever. She was slightly in love with Teny. So in love with her that she brought other nurses to our room to meet her :)
We then met with her doctor, Dr V. He was amazing. Listening to everything we had to say and actually taking her issue seriously. Well he wanted a full history on her so we went all the way back to my pregnancy with her and her birth and her first bowel movements.
Well as soon as I said she never had meconium he about lost his marbles. Seriously. Lol
He was so upset that no one cared that she didn't have meconium and that her first bowel movement was at day 7.
He then started asking a series of questions and he is 95% sure he knows what she has.
He says she has something called hirachsprung syndrome. It basically means your butt has no nerves so it can't pass a bowel movement. The only fix for it is to have a portion of her bowel removed and to repair the opening.
She has 2 procedures set up in April. The first one is a rectal biopsy and the second is a green gel that gets inserted in her and then xrayed. She will be sedated for both procedures.
We are just trusting in God that all will be OK. Dr V said we want her to have this because the alternative to this is much much worse. Like CF, cancer, tumors, not fun stuff.
We are greatful that someone is taking it seriously and that someone is trying to fix it and help Teny not be in pain any longer.
I will be so happy once she is no longer in pain. There is nothing worse than knowing your child is in pain and there's nothing you can do about it.
Her first appt is next week so I will be back with updates next week. For now here are some pictures of our trip :)

Wow

Last month was one crazy busy month. So I shall do bullet updates and go in details on the more important ones later :)

*We went to myrtle beach for a mini vacation

*I lost a bunch of weight!

*Teny had her duke appt.

*We installed new floors in the kitchen

*Easter!!

*Took a huge leap of faith military wise and hope it all works out.

See so so busy. So those are some of the posts to come.

A little lost

So after losing so a big number over a few days I thought I was doing well. I thought I was getting the hang of losing weight again... but then I went to see my trainer and she read my food journal and she highlighted like the whole book!! Highlighting is bad :( so to me it was like what did I do wrong. I lost weight that's what matters, right? Apparently what you eat matters more. So its back to the drawing board for me. I need to learn how to eat more natural and more vegetables, apparently less fruits cause I eat too much sugar, and more protein, oh and less diary. Its so hard not to eat dairy!! But I want to lose weight the right way. I don't want to put it right back on when I'm not being as diligent as I am now. I need to make it a lifestyle change not a "lose weigh fast thing" . So that's the plan. Let's see how it goes. I'm so excited for Monday to get here so I can post my weight loss for this week. Its so amazing!! And today is only Friday. Which means I could lose more between now and Monday. This weight is falling off right now and I can't wait to see if I can hit my next goal by Mon.

Back in the game

I got a little distracted over the month of January with my weight loss. Kids got sick, I got sick, kids got sick, I got sick, see the awesome trend. Then my gym membership expired and I thought ohh I can workout at home. Haha that didn't happen. So January was not a great month. Apparently when you stop working out and watching your calories you can gain 5lbs!! Boo!! So February 14, yes Valentine's day, I went out and for myself a gym membership and jumped back on the weight loss train
I even got myself a trainer. This has kicked my butt into full gear. Its only been 10 days but just eating clean and working out I've dropped almost 10lbs! I think I was carrying lots of water weight but 10lbs in 10 days!! I am so happy and just want to keep going to be able to lose another 20lbs. But I like smaller goals so my next goal is 6lbs in the next 2 weeks. My husband leaves for 2 weeks so I feel like I can be really good with my eating and do twice a days at the gym and hopefully it'll just fall off. Overall to get to a healthy weight I need to lose 40 more pounds. That is what is in my trainers book for my dream weight. I never thought I could reach that number. But its out there and I want it and I want it BAD. I think having someone tell you that you can do it, that you can have it is so encouraging. I hear it from my husband, my friends, my family all the time but there's something about hearing someone who's trained to help people lose weight, that it just makes it seem possible. I don't know if that makes sense. But here's to my first little goal of 6lbs and then I guess I'll only have 34 left to go. Eeeeek!!
I'll leave it with a progress pic of my first 25lbs.

4 years old!!

My little man, my first born, my Bubba, my little miracle monkey Marcus is 4 years old!! I can't believe he is 4!!

He is so much fun. He has a loud personality. He is that kid you don't forget. He's sweet and kind and sensitive. He has a love of trains, cars, books, outdoors, the beach and fishing. Just to name a few.

He is speaking more and more every day. His speech is still slow. Strangers can't understand him and we can understand him about 65% of the time. Its really hard on everyone. He gets so frustrated because we don't understand and we get frustrated at him when he's throwing a fit because he can't communicate. He is getting better. But its something we are working on daily. He gets seen 3 times a week for speech, once a week for feeding and once a week for OT. Hopefully soon he won't need as many therapies.

He is one BIG boy. He weighs over 43lbs and 40in tall and he has one huge head.

He goes to preschool mon-fri 8-12. He loves school so much and it has helped him so much with his speech and with his social skills. IE learning how to share. Lol.

For his birthday we tried to make it very special for him. So sat the 2nd we took him bowling, to monkey joes, sweet frog, fun fun fun and then red robin for dinner. He was so tired he fell asleep at dinner. Haha. Then Sunday the 3rd (his bday) he woke up to a house filled with 150+ balloons and a new family member Spidey the Beta fish. He had such a blast playing in the balloons. Then we took him to his favorite place for breakfast, krispy kremes. He was in heaven. Then we went to Barnes and noble for him to play with the trains and pick out some books. Then we headed to my moms for the day. We had a blast. I'm 99% sure he thought he was all that and a bag of chips. Lol.

I am so proud of the little man he is becoming and so proud to call him mine :)

18 months old!!

I can't believe my little baby is a year and a half old! Where does time go?? By way to fast is the answer to that.

This is my favorite stage. With having an older child I know what's to come. The awesome terrible twos. So I am soaking up this awesome age and this awesome little person.

Ten is a joy to be around. I would rather be with her then without her. She is still the vest shopping buddy ever. She loves going bye bye with her mama. She is such a ham and finds everything so funny.

She has learned so much this month. She can count to 5!!! I don't think she understands what she's saying she just repeats everything Marcus says. She can hum the toon of the ABC and sometimes she says the letters. She is talking so much. Like starting sentences. Her favorite sentences are i want Bubba. Go nigh nigh. More milk please. And my personal favorite is I love you :)

She learned some body parts this month. She can tell you where her nose, hair, mouth, eye, arm, leg, and ears are.

She also LOVES books. They are with her 24-7. She carries them with her everywhere she goes. She asks for us to read to her a million times a day. She hates the TV and would rather look at a book then watch TV.

She also is obsessed with coffee!! If you take it away from her you will get such a mean face from her. She even likes it black!!

She has her appt at duke next month for her GI issues and I am so excited she finally gets to be taken seriously.

Her stats are 22.3 lbs and 30 in tall. She is 20% for weight and 25% for height. Still my itty bitty baby. She wears 12 months and some 18 months but most are too big. She can wear 18 month PJs. She still has what's considered infant feet cause they are so tiny. She wears a 3.

She is such a joy and lights up our lives. We love her so much and can't wait to see how much more she grows and develops in the next couple months.