Oh my gosh I'm moving tomorrow!!!

I think I have mentioned the stress issues before, but I'm just gonna mention that for a minute. My life has been possibly beyond the normal amount of crazy /scary/stressful for the past, oh... 4 1/2 years. The point is, now it's not. It's scary good. It's like when it's so quiet in the house it makes you nervous. Because I was so used to high stress levels (the stress didn't have me "stressed out") I am going through some kind of let down. I'm working really hard to tell my weird little brain to just go with the flow.
Praise the Lord we have a house, Praise the Lord we're gonna live in it, Praise the Lord we have everything we NEED.
Anyway, so another aspect to this is this is the "Season of Nolan" for me. It always starts with Aiden's birthday and doesn't end until Nolan's birthday March 21. I just get a little funky, but I enjoy it. It gives me a valid reason for my eccentric behavior. Grief is an uninvited house guest, it shows up at very inopportune times through your whole life.
So, yes, I have lost 6 lbs as of last Friday, and I'm hanging out there for a few days. I haven't botched as far as the things I eat being "bad", but there has been some rice in there and some really tasty pasta salad that I only ate a tiny bit of. The tough thing about the low card dieting it that all it takes is one serving of no-no food and you aren't gonna loose any that day. So after Valentines Day I decided it will be easier to eat what I should when I'm not staying at my mom's house with all of her yummy cooking. Haven't gained any... just haven't lost any more. Holding.
I'm guessing I won't post for several days, but my next post should include some good house pics.

"Thank you Lord for seeing us through. On my own I knew I wouldn't get here. There have been lots of boo-boos and oops along the way, but they were all for Your glory. I am ever changing and you are always the same. Please bless our new home with your presence and go before us in this change. Amen."

Aiden quotes to share:

"Daddy, call that mean guy one of those bad words! Do it! Just call him what uncle Bobby calls his cat!"

"I don't need help putting on my pajamas, I'm a proud man."

"Mom, can I have some Keeley-strawberry juice?"

"I would really like a Hannah Montana lunch box, that could be for a boy or for a girl."

"Mom, you need to take care of your child!" (as lucy is crying in the backseat of the car)

"My favorite guy on Star Wars was that Jed-guy."

Happy Birthday Odie!

I'm getting worse and worse at keeping up here. There has been a lot of "life" going on around here. If it isn't one thing it's another. I tried my best to read up on everyone else's posts this morning.
Today is Mr Aiden's 6th birthday. I can barely remember my birth experience with him because it was so long and difficult. I do remember holding him and being in shock that he was really mine to keep. He had tons of hair (just like his brothers and sister) and little kissy lips.
The big talk around here is all about moving. Once we get the key on Friday then all the work will begin, we get to make our house a home. Needless to say my mind is full of dining room tables, kids toys, and trying to remember what exactly we have in storage. There are all kinds of other little dilemmas going on around me but I am ignoring them, because I don't want anything to take away from the joy of our new home!
I am still looking for a decent washer and dryer if anyone knows of a set that is for grabs, although it's really easy to find them on Cragslist. We now have a fridge, kids beds, and several other things I've come across along the way. I've been trying no to stress, but to sit back and let God put things together at the right times. It's hard to relinquish control!
So that's about it. I added some new pics of Lucy that my mom took yesterday. She is wearing the same outfit she wore in the hospital pics I took of her, with her Jamie Ray headband (which Bryan hates).

My waist-line and my night-owl

So I'm gonna keep updating about my weight loss adventure, but I'm going to start putting it at the end of each blog so I can move on to other things. For today I'll get it out of the way and say that I lost 3 more pounds. I was super excited to move my ticker again today. That was my short term goal I wanted to meet by Saturday. So my new goal is to drop into the next weight range, that would mean loosing 3 more pounds, by Saturday. Lets just see. I'm following all the rules, and I'm definitely getting full, nice.

Anyway, that been said, the real thing on my gourd today is MOVING. We get our key a week from tomorrow. I'm so excited. I think we are going refrigerator shopping on Sunday. The kids new beds and bedding arrived by UPS and are sitting in big boxes in the garage. I'm just so ready. I'm still a little nervous, just because this is a big step, but mostly just ecstatic.

Miss Lucy Clover has been quite the night owl lately. Several nights in a row she has waken for her 10 o'clock feeding (which was a time I was already struggling to get her to sleep through) and not going back to sleep until at least 12. That is longer than I can force her to stay awake during the day. I have been following the eat-wake-sleep pattern, but I can't get her to stay awake for more than and hour to hour fifteen minutes before napping. Any advise hear is helpful. I do follow Babywise, but my book is in storage and I can't reference it right now. I am going to try going back to 3 hours between feedings instead of four. That is when I started having problems and I'm wondering if she needs the extra calories.

"Lord, please bless this next week as we are waiting for our new home. The excitement and anticipation is building. We are so thankful for this time of calm in our lives. Thank You also for the difficulty that brought us here and may our lives be a testimony of Your abilities and glory. Amen."

Like I always say, "He is with me on the hill and in the Sumner Valley."

on my melon today

I weighed in AFTER breakfast and my coffee... down 1.5 lbs from yesterday. No joke. Yes I have been eating, quite a lot actually because I made brownies last night for Brandy's Lia Sophia party, and I had to eat my weight in pesto cheese torte to stave off the cravings.
I had an omlet and coffee for breakfast.
I made a bet with Bryan, he already won. I bet that if I didn't loose any weight by Friday I would get to eat a whole tray of brownies just for trying. He bet I wouldn't get to eat those brownies.
So, I'm just posting because I know there are several of you out there who weren't believers in cutting carbs, and I'm just say'n...
So my new short term goal is to loose 3 more pounds before Bry comes home on Saturday. And I must emphasize WHAT I'M DOING IS COMPLETELY HEALTHY. I am getting plenty of calories and nutrients, I'm still breastfeeding for cry'n out loud.

On a different subject, I am still trying to figure out what to get Bryan for Valentine's Day. We are moving next weekend, so I'm tempted to hold of the celebration until then? WWYD? I thought about going to Victoria's Secret, but they are so expensive unless they are having a sale. Are they having a sale? So other than that I'm thinking a card, some candles for our new room, and maybe some of his favorite foods?

Does anyone else have spring fever? I'm totally itching for some warm sunshine (not to be confused with cold sunshine)and a nice jog outside with out worrying about black ice. I wanna clean, decorate, and organize. Where is spring?

The before

So I woke up this morning and thought, "ok, I'm ready to do this". So far today has been carb free (except the kind that comes from fruit and veggies). It hasn't been too hard yet except the brownies someone brought to bible study. I know it's gonna be hard tonight at Brandie's jewlery party because my mom is making Giradelli brownies, and for the record brownies are probably my favorite dessert. But I'm serious about this. I haven't started exercizing yet, I save that for my plateau week.
I guess what happened is basically I just got sick of wanting to do something about it and just decided not to procrastinate. I don't know if this is going to work as fabulously as it did for me last year, but if it does I hope to be minus a few pounds by the weekend.
If anyone wants to jump on this bandwagon let me know. I like to have accountability buddies. I Jessica and I did this last spring and both ended up pregnant, so obviously it worked (we looked pretty good).
My short term goal is to be able to follow the rules all the way til Saturday. My Long term goal is to loose about 20 lbs (10 would put me at my prepregnancy weight).
So now I've announced it to the whole internet, if that isn't going to keep me accountable I don't know what will.

Reporting from Lake Tapps

I took Bryan to the airport this morning. I'm not sad yet but I will be when evening rolls around and I don't have my friend to sit around and watch tv with. I think it's time to take the kids on an outing. Aiden hasn't been functioning very well outside of school this week. We tried to go to Wal Mart which is usually safe, but he had a major melt down. Definitely the biggest melt down since the Mc Donanlds incident last summer. Bummer. So I think I'm going to be brave today and try a walk in downtown Sumner. Sugar Babies is open on Sundays now, and I've been meaning to go for a while.
I got my hair done this past week. Nothing drastic yet. Just a trim, I've been letting it grow. I had got an all over espresso color, looks good on me. I went to a girl I met at church, Christy, I highly recommend her and I'm gonna call her again.
Tomorrow I'm going to see my friend Kathryn who does make up, I need some new products. So after that I should feel like I am on my way to recovery after pregnancy.
Less than two weeks until moving day! I'm excited and nervous. Mostly just excited. I'll post pics of our new rooms after we are in (we all got new bedding and some new furniture).
...And that's what's going on all over the country, and here's what's going on in your neck of the woods...
"Dear Lord, please give us peace and patience this week. Keep my family safe, even though we are far apart. Help me to keep looking up. Amen."

Poor little Pimples

But she's still so cute!
All her dark hair is growing out and coming back BLONDE! and maybe with a little strawberry to it. So looking forward to decorating her new room. I bought her bedding a couple days ago. Fun fun fun.

Chug-chug-chug'n along

Even good change can be so hard! Transition is rarely easy. We only have 18 days until we move into our new house, not too long. We have most everything packed and waiting. We are staying at my parents house (which is now going to be only about 10 minutes from our house!)in the meantime. Very exciting time, but the way we are all dealing with it is a little rough. It's hard to understand why, when the end is near, everyone starts to buckle. I have been predicting for a long time that this would have a difficult effect on me. It's a let-down process. It means that I am exiting survival mode and all the stress and tension from the past few YEARS is pouring in. I'm just so tired and longing for consistency. I think I have cried twice in the past week, and anyone who knows me knows that that is really crazy. I should probably put a few tears in a little bottle for proof to those around me who have often been frustrated with my lack of "feeling".
Anyway, everyone is finally returning to health. We're really doing great other than what I just mentioned. Aiden's 6th birthday is on the 18th. I can't believe that. I always go into a strange mind set this time of year. Predictably from Aiden's birthday this month through Nolan's birthday next month I will act... strange. Not depressed or sad, just off. That's why I have started the tradition of getting a new piercing during this time every year. I feel the need to do something strange and exciting, plus it is fairly symbolic. It's easy to accept physical pain when the emotional pain is much more... just MORE.
So this blog turned out to be more of a journal than anything. Lame. But there will be more exciting things to blog in the next few weeks.
Oh, and moving everything out of my mother in laws on my own the day after Bry's surgery has had the pleasant result of my loosing about 4lbs! Very encouraging since I am about ready to start working out again.

(the sermon at church yesterday was meant for me but I'm not ready to talk about it yet. Will blog about it when I'm ready.)