The Matas

Week 4 check-in..

2012-02-08T09:34:00.001-06:00

It has been almost a month since the weight-loss challenge started and I'm down 7.8 pounds..which sounds pretty good, but I know it should be more than that.

It look me all last week to get back down to where I was the previous week, then the weekend happened again..and 2 bottles of wine happened..and 2 cupcakes from Hey Cupcake happened..and I was back up on Monday morning. Luckily, I was able to lose everything I gained in a couple days (must have been water weight) and I'm actually down 0.8 pounds overall..and I'm sitting at 193.8.

I'm perfect with my calories during the week and I've been walking for 40-45 minutes 6 days per week. I just have a hard time controlling myself on the weekends when we're hanging out with friends..or shopping at Costco (those dang samples are so good).

My goal is to get under 190 by the week 6 check-in.

Week 3 Check-In..

2012-02-01T13:28:00.001-06:00

Today marks the end of the 3rd week of the weight-loss challenge and I'm up 1.4 pounds from last Wednesday. We were out of town Saturday through Monday for a funeral and I tried to make good choices, though I slipped up a few times. I didn't allow myself to go crazy like I ~~wanted to~~ normally would and I walked on Saturday and Sunday.

I though for sure I had at least maintained my weight over the weekend..and I was not happy when I stepped on the scale yesterday (I'm down 0.6 from yesterday, but still up 1.4 from last week). My monthly visitor is making an appearance right now so I'll attribute some of the weight gain to that.

Anyway, I'm back on track and still motivated...I will report a loss next week!

Week 2 Check-In..

2012-01-25T10:46:00.004-06:00

Today marks the end of the second week of the weight loss challenge and I'm still going strong. I've been tracking calories every and and I've walked every day for the past two weeks, except for Fridays. I feel great and I feel motivated...and I'm not starving!

There were fliers up around work announcing a weight loss dialogue series that they are starting and the first 25 people got to be part of it...and I got in. They're going to talk about different issues and challenges to losing weight and keeping it off and I'm excited to see if I can learn something new. We also get a free pedometer, cookbook and water bottle..sounds good to me!

This morning I was 194.6, which is down 2.8 over last week and 7 pounds overall!

Fun week..

2012-01-22T21:52:00.001-06:00

The weather has been unseasonably warm off and on over the past few weeks..and we’ve been taking full advantage of it! We had Monday off for MLK Day so we took Caroline to the park.

She can use a big-girl swing now.

We took Caroline to her hair cut yesterday for the second time. The place was celebrating their 1-year anniversary so they had balloon animals and face painting. We had her cousin’s birthday party in San Antonio last night and we let her wear her hair down since in had just been cut, which rarely happens.

The party was at a place called Just Add Children and it was pretty cool. Caroline loved it!

Ironing.

She always has a great time playing with her cousins.

We took advantage of the nice weather again today and pulled some weeds (and played with chalk).
.

Week 1 Check-In..

2012-01-18T11:27:00.000-06:00

Sorry all of my posts are about weight lately. I have not been good about taking pictures. I need to take some this weekend when we head to San Antonio for our nephew's 5th birthday party.

Anyway..today marks one week since the weight-loss challenge started and things are going well. I've been tracking my calories every day and I've walked the neighborhood 6 out of the last 7 days. I've been right around 1200 calories every day, except for Saturday when we had friends over and I had wine..and cookies. Oh well, I got right back on track.

I was 197.4 this morning, which is 4.2 pounds down from last week. Wow. I'm pretty sure some of that was water weight and I don't expect to keep that momentum. As long as I'm losing weight, I'm happy. I feel so much better when I'm eating healthy and exercising!

Weight Loss Challenge Starting Weight

2012-01-11T10:53:00.001-06:00

Well, here it is..my starting weight for the 3 month weight loss challenge. The pot is over $300! I'm excited about seeing this number go down..and about the possibility of winning over $300!

Bring it on! My plan is to do a 1200 calorie diet of mostly clean foods (plus whatever I earn from working out). I'm also going to walk at least 2.5 miles around the neighborhood at least 5 times per week at a minimum pace of 4 mph.

Weight Loss Check-In

2012-01-08T10:45:00.001-06:00

I meant to write on Friday but got busy. There's not much to report, other than a 0.8 gain. I did well on Tuesday, I stayed within my calories and even walked 2.5 miles after work. I got an email that evening about a 3 month weight loss challenge for $ and the start date is this Wednesday. I decided to back off of the weight loss until after the challenge starts. I know that's pretty dumb but I'm very competitive. ;)So, I will be on track this week with my eating and working out. Like I said, I'm very competitive and I needed something like this to motivate me to get my butt back in gear. I'll keep y'all updated on the challenge.- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

200.2

2012-01-02T09:39:00.001-06:00

Yep, ladies, that is my weight as of this morning! Holy crap..I could totally win any weight gaining competition! I have gained 8.8 pounds over the past month. I have no excuses..I ate crappy foods, lots of them, and didn’t exercise at all. I’m right back to where I started last year..actually I weigh more than when I started last year!

I’m going to get back on track with the blogging about my weight loss efforts..and I’m moving my check-ins to Fridays. I’m tired of the Monday thing..I’ve been doing that for 2 years now.

The plan is to get back on track with the clean eating and calorie tracking using My Fitness Pal. I’ll do my first check-in on Friday, though I’m not going to lie and say that I’m already on-track. I’m also in training all week, which will involve going out to eat with coworkers every day. I’ll make my first week’s goal to not gain any more weight.

Current weight: 200.2
1st goal weight: 185

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T14:31:00.001-06:00

We’re already off to a better start this year..because we’re at home and not at the hospital. We had a rough year last year but we got through it thanks to the support from family, friends, internet friends, strangers, coworkers, etc. We’re looking forward to what 2012 has in store.

Here are some pictures from the past year.

January..half of this month was spent with Mario in the hospital, then in therapy, so I don’t have many pictures to choose from.

February

March – we celebrated out 4th wedding anniversary and Miss Caroline turned 2!

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November – we lost our dear niece Janel at only 10 months old.

December

Merry Christmas..a little late

2011-12-29T19:27:00.001-06:00

We left for Mario’s hometown the Friday before Christmas..and we knew we wouldn’t be back home until late Christmas Eve, so we went ahead and left out milk and cookies for Santa.

Caroline had a great time with her cousins.

There were presents taking over the living room! (notice Mario’s senior picture on the wall..lol)

Caroline opened the first of many princess themed gifts..wow, I said we were not doing the princess thing before she was born.

We got back home at about 11pm on Christmas Eve and Caroline was sound asleep so we put her to bed and Santa got to work.

We woke her up in the morning (because she will sleep until 9!) and she was so excited! She picked out a princess dress and shoes from her trunk of dress-up clothes.

We checked out the stocking.

Yay for Foofa shoes!

All of her pink loot.

We got dressed and headed over to my parents’ house to see what Santa dropped off there.

Caroline was more interested in passing out everyone else’s presents that opening her own. I’ve always played “Santa” and passed out the gifts..I guess she takes after me.

My parents are awesome and got us some great stuff! We got a blu-ray DVD player with WiFi and it is awesome! You can listen to your Pandora stations, stream Netflix, get on Facebook..we’ve been having lots of fun during our week off!

After we got things somewhat cleaned up, my dad brought out the other gift that Santa brought. She kept asking Santa for a pink car..and he brought one! She LOVED it!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-28T10:13:00.001-06:00

Ready for Christmas!

2011-12-22T15:42:00.001-06:00

I’m glad we got our Christmas shopping done early so we could do fun stuff last weekend! On Saturday morning we woke up, cleaned house and went to see the new Chipmunks movie. Caroline loved it..and we thought it was pretty cute too. After the movie, we drove to San Antonio to go to the Sea World Christmas celebration. Luckily we timed things just right and Caroline took an hour and a half nap on the drive there. It was so much fun! We haven’t been to Sea World when it wasn’t at least 95 degrees outside. We actually got to enjoy the rest of the park and the shows.Caroline loved the carousel as usual.We climbed on the giant net playground.She has grown since this Summer so she’s now able to ride most of the rides by herself.They had a trail that went through trees that were covered with lights. All along the trail were characters from around the park.She loved the Shamu roller coaster!On Sunday night we went to the Buda Trail of Lights. It was fun! They painted Rudolph noses on the kids.We visited with Santa again.Yesterday was PJ day and Christmas party day at school.We’re excited about Santa coming..and I can’t wait to see Caroline’s reaction on Christmas morning. We haven’t put any presents under the tree because there is no way she would leave them alone.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-21T17:50:00.001-06:00

Dancing queen..

2011-12-12T21:59:00.001-06:00

Caroline’s dance studio had a float in the Budafest parade on Saturday and I rode with her. It was freezing! I don’t have any good quality pictures because I forgot to put the memory card in the camera. Oops.

After the parade, the different dance classes performed outside. By the time Caroline’s class was up, she was tired and asking for her paci and milk so I didn’t know how it would go. She stood up there with a pouty face and didn’t move at all. Haha.

Tonight was the last night of dance until after the new year so they did in-studio performances and Mario and my mom came to watch. They practiced before going to the room where they were going to perform and Caroline did great. She had fun walking in line to the other room.

They all lined up and got ready to dance (notice how much taller she is than the other girls in her class).

They started dancing and she didn’t move. She was just looking around at everyone. She refused to dance to wheels on the bus, which is one of her favorite songs. Poor thing gets stage fright.

She didn’t dance for the second dance either.

They headed back to their classroom and got to pick out costumes to wear for the last few dances. She was back to her normal, playful self.

Yo Gabba Gabba live

2011-12-06T08:23:00.001-06:00

We had been looking forward to YGG live since August, when my parents bought us tickets for my birthday. Of course now I'm hearing about all these super discounted tickets. Ugh.

Anyway. The show was awesome! We had floor seats so Caroline danced around in the aisles with other kids and actually tried to run up and get on the stage. I wasn't sure how she would do because she didn't nap.

My pictures are pretty crappy because they're all phone pictures. They wouldn't allow cameras with detachable lenses so we had to take ours back to the car.

Getting her pout on because she wanted something that another kid had.

She didn't want to be contained.

She was in shock when they came on stage.

Fake snow started falling from the ceiling and she loved it.

And this is how she looked by the time we pulled out of the parking lot.

Thanksgiving..until now

2011-12-04T19:19:00.001-06:00

Better late than never right? We hosted Thanksgiving again this year, though my parents bought all the food because we were in Pearsall until Wednesday evening. Our kitchen overhead light went out on Wednesday so we had to use a lamp to cook Thanksgiving dinner.

We fried a turkey in our electric fryer.

We did paper plates this year instead of china..it’s much easier that way.

We put up our Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving.

We bought Caroline a pink tree to put in the playroom.

Caroline “helped” me inside while Mario hung the outside lights.

The mantle. That wreath will soon be replaced with a TV. We got a good black Friday deal from Dell on a bigger TV and we’re selling our current one, which will pay for the installation over the fireplace. I can’t wait.

We went to the Kyle tree lighting and waited in line to see Santa for over an hour. We were allowed to take two pictures and this is as good as it got.

So we decided to hit up the mall Santa yesterday. We waited in line for another hour. Caroline did surprisingly well! She’s so excited about Christmas and Santa.

I need to scan the professional picture..it turned out really cute. Here’s one that Mario took.

We let her ride the train for being so good in line.

McFatty Monday..

2011-11-28T10:40:00.001-06:00

Yikes, I have been way off track for the past two weeks. Measuring food and counting calories hasn't really been a priority. I'm back on track today with eating clean and I hope I can get this weight that I have gained off and then some.

Current weight: 191.4
Weight GAINED over the past two weeks: 3.4 pounds
Weight lost since starting clean eating: 7.4 pounds

Wurstfest 2011..

2011-11-27T21:19:00.001-06:00

We went to Wurstfest a few weeks ago after struggling with the decision to even go. Janel was in the hospital but was making good progress and we thought it would be good for us and for Caroline to get out a little after spending days at the hospital.

We got there before the gates even opened and were able to get some great tables. I knew we were in for a busy day with a 2 1/2 year old!

We ate lots of food.

Rode the carousel several times..

Caroline got her face painted for the first time.

We were there for over 8 hours and had a great time with our family and friends. We can’t wait until next year!

Janel..

2011-11-27T21:04:00.001-06:00

Our 10 month old niece Janel lost her 9 day fight for life after nearly drowning in her bathtub. Needless to say, the past two weeks have been a roller coaster of emotion. Please pray or send positive thoughts to my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and 4 year old nephew as they struggle to deal with this tragedy. I can't even allow myself to imagine what they are feeling.

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 13

2011-11-14T09:38:00.001-06:00

The title of this week's post should not even mention clean eating because it didn't happen last week.

Last week consisted of a lot of eating out..and I wasn't making good choices. Our niece is in the hospital (and that deserves a post of its own) and we lived on fast food for a few days. We also went to Wurstfest (another post) and that consisted of fried food and beer.

After tempting fate and still losing weight every day even though I was not eating well and not exercising, I have finally gained some weight, which I deserve, and which should help me get my butt back in gear. I'm back on track today even though I don't want to be. I packed the usual breakfast, lunch and snacks.

Current weight: 189.6
Weight GAINED this week: 1.6 pounds
Total weight lost so far: 9.2 pounds

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 12

2011-11-07T07:48:00.001-06:00

This week was pretty much a blow off week. I was sick starting on Tuesday and I didn't track my calories at all. I also didn't eat totally clean and did a lot of snacking. I'm back on track today with the usual breakfast, lunch and snacks.

I also didn't work out at all. I'm pretty sure I got sick right after starting the couch to 5K program last year too. I'm still congested and coughing so I'll start week 2 as soon as I feel better.

Current weight: 188
Weight lost this week: 1.6 pounds
Weight lost since starting clean eating: 10.8 pounds

::whispers:: potty trained::

2011-11-06T20:44:00.001-06:00

I haven’t really blogged about it..or talked about it..but I would say that Caroline is potty trained. We have tried a few times to start getting her interested in sitting on the potty, and she would, for about two seconds before she would exclaim that she was done and get up and run off. She was the oldest in her daycare class (of 2-3 year olds) that wasn’t potty trained. They have been trying for a few month to get her interested in the potty but she would do the same two second sit for them.

I talked to her pedi at her 2 1/2 year appointment about techniques to use and how to do it and she said to just wait until she was ready and she would pretty much train herself. That sounded like a great idea to me, so that was the plan. About two weeks ago (three weeks after the pedi appointment) daycare said she started asking to sit on the potty..and she would actually go. They kept her in a diaper that week but she only went in the diaper once or twice the entire week. Once she left school, she had no desire to sit on the potty at home so we were still doing diapers. We talked to her teachers about that and they started talking at lot to her about using the big girl potty at home. By that weekend, she was using the potty at home (she even wore panties to Costco and used the potty there).

Since Monday, she’s been in panties full time (except at night, we put her in a diaper but she doesn’t actually go all night, I just don’t want to wake up covered in pee because she sleeps with us). I can’t believe it. I guess she was just ready..and the lollipops she gets for going don’t hurt the situation either.

Happy Halloween..

2011-11-01T06:47:00.001-06:00

I woke up sick this morning (fever, congestion, sore throat) so I stayed home from work, which means I can share our pumpkin carving and Halloween pictures.

We carved our pumpkin on Sunday afternoon. Caroline wasn’t a fan of the “guts” at first.

She realized that she could use a spoon to scoop them out and she was ok with that.

Mario decided to “carve” it with a drill.

For the other pumpkin, Caroline picked out a princess Mr. Potato Head package.

We went trick-or-treating with some of Caroline’s friends. She loved it. She wasn’t shy at all.

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 11

2011-10-31T07:33:00.001-06:00

I did pretty well all week, except for the few pieces of Halloween candy on Thursday night..I cannot be trusted around chocolate. I did pretty bad on Friday and Saturday though..I hate chips and queso on Friday night and ordered pizza on Saturday..after eating a bunch of samples at Costco. I got back on track yesterday and tracked my calories and ate clean.

Last night I made Spaghetti Squash Lasagna and it was good! I have Chicken Taco Chili in the crock pot for tonight.

I started the couch to 5K program again last week after making it to week 3 last year and quitting. Man, I hate running but it feels so good afterward. I finished week 1 yesterday and I'll probably start week 2 on Tuesday since we're trick-or-treating tonight.

Current weight: 189.6
Weight lost this week: 1.6 pounds
Weight lost since starting clean eating: 9.2 pounds

Busy week..

2011-10-30T13:19:00.001-06:00

I realized today that I didn’t post a blog last weekend, which works out now because I can go ahead and include the pictures I took during the week this week.

Last Saturday we went hung out with some friends and watched the Texas Rangers game (good thing we are just bandwagoners because the Astros were out of it or we would be as upset as all of our friends over the loss on Thursday) and we had three 2.5-3 year olds at a house without kids. They found ways to entertain themselves though.

The dog crate was a big hit again.

They rolled around on the floor.

and they played dress-up.

On Sunday we went to the Children’s Park in San Marcos. Caroline loves that park.

It was pretty hot when we got home so we got the water table out.

Caroline drug her swing out of the garage..I need to see what the weight limit is for it.

Everyone wore their costumes to dance class on Monday night. Aren’t they all just adorable?

Thursday night was the annual Buda Halloween Festival. A cold front blew in right as we were walking out the door to drive to the festival so Caroline had to wear her jacket over her costume.

Here’s the back of her costume.

The trains were loud.

They had trick-or-treating at all the little shops downtown. Caroline wanted to eat the candy as soon as they put it in her pumpkin..tomorrow night should be interesting!

There was a tow truck that was painted just like Mater from Cars.

We’re carving a pumpkin today when Caroline wakes up from her nap. She has a Halloween party at school tomorrow..and trick-or-treating tomorrow night. I’ll post pictures of all of that later this week.

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 10

2011-10-24T06:51:00.002-06:00

I've gained a pound since last Monday. I ate (and drank) like crap this weekend. I have no self control over food when alcohol is involved. It's funny how your body starts to crave bad things after just one taste of something bad. I can definitely see how people fall off the wagon so easily.

Oh well. I was on track all last week and I walked 4 times. I've upped my pace to 4mph and I can definitely feel the burn. I'm back on track today..eating clean and tracking my calories. I was down to 187.8 on Saturday morning and I'm hoping to be back there by the end of this week.

Current weight: 191.2
Weight GAINED this week: 1 pound
Weight lost since starting clean eating: 7.6 pounds

Wordless Wednesday..mall and bubbles

2011-10-19T06:05:00.001-06:00

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 9

2011-10-17T07:35:00.002-06:00

I did really well all last week. I tracked my calories every day and walked 4 times. I was down to 188 by Friday. Then the weekend happened. I went to a girls happy hour on Friday and drank skinny margaritas and ate a salad..not too bad. Then we hung out with some friends on Saturday and made fajitas..and snacked..and drank. I'm pretty sure I ate a whole bag of tortilla chips by myself. I knew I was going to pay for it on the scale..and I did.

I still lost weight since last Monday but I'm bummed that I'm back over 190. I need to be good this weekend! My pants are not as tight as they were and my husband says my butt looks good. Haha.

Current weight: 190.2
Weight lost this week: 1 pound
Weight lost since starting clean eating: 8.6 pounds

Three day weekend..

2011-10-16T21:13:00.001-06:00

I took Friday off so we got the weekend started on Thursday night at the Kyle Fair. The carnival started Thursday and I guess people didn’t get the memo because we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We bought Caroline a wristband and she had a blast on all the rides.

I took Friday off to attend the Little Monsters Bash. It was the same fundraiser that was put on two years ago where I got the gorgeous picture of Caroline as a flower. This year Caroline is a zebra butterfly (from etsy) and I think she’s adorable.

Lyndsay with Life in Motion Photography worked her magic again and got these great shots of Caroline in her costume (she was flapping her wings like a butterfly).

On Saturday morning we went to a parade through downtown Kyle. It was pretty lame this year..the bands didn’t even march! Caroline still had fun though.

We hung out with some friends on Saturday night and watched the Rangers game. They don’t have any kids, but they have a puppy and Caroline enjoyed watching a movie in the crate.

My parents came over today and we watched the Texans game. They lost..boo..but Caroline was still supporting them.

Wordless Wednesday..school picture

2011-10-11T23:00:00.000-06:00

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 8

2011-10-10T06:35:00.001-06:00

I started tracking my calories again on Wednesday using My Fitness Pal..and I'm already seeing results. I'm eating 1560 calories per day, plus whatever I earn from walking, which I started doing again on Wednesday night. I've realized that, on most days, in order to have an after dinner snack, I need to walk to earn the calories. I've been doing about 2.5 miles at a pace of 3.8 mph and it feels great. It's relaxing to walk around and listen to music and it makes me feel better.

I mentioned giving up the morning smoothies last week and I did that. Here's what my average meal plan looks like.

Breakfast:
Coffee with truvia and 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup old fashioned oats with 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/4 cup frozen blueberries, and truvia

Snack 1:
1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt with 1tsp honey, 1/8 cup sliced almonds, and 1/4 cup strawberries

Lunch:
Either leftovers, individual meatloaves, or a sandwich (tuna made with hummus, grilled chicken, or pork tenderloin)

Snack 2:
Celery or carrots and hummus
Apple

Dinner:
Varies..a clean eating dinner with a veggie and sometimes brown rice or a sweet potato

Snack 3:
Shredded wheat with almond milk and raisins

I'm still enjoying cooking and we've been doing a lot of clean crock pot meals. I'm feeling good and motivated right now. I'm ready to get out of the 190's again!

Current weight: 191.2
Weight lost this week: 2.4 pounds
Weight lost since starting clean eating: 7.6 pounds

Sweet Berry Farm

2011-10-09T13:15:00.001-06:00

We made a rainy drive out to Sweet Berry Farm yesterday. I was worried about everything being wet when we got there but it wasn’t bad. We didn’t get rained on and there was a nice breeze the whole time we were there.

We had been talking to Caroline about the pumpkin patch for a few days and she was excited.

Does this tractor look familiar?

Here she is last year.

She loved feeding the goats.

I think her favorite part was the boat filled with pumpkins.

She refuses to look at the camera when I’m holding it.

We walked over to the other side of the farm to ride the hayride. She loved walking through the tunnel.

We stopped to take pictures in the flowers before the hayride.

Ready for the ride.

Next up was the barrel train.

Before leaving, we got some homemade ice cream for Caroline.

Flashback Friday

2011-10-07T08:12:00.000-06:00

Last October we made a trip to Sweet Berry Farm and we're planning on heading out there tomorrow. Caroline will love it I'm sure..I better wear my running shoes because she is fast!

National Night Out..

2011-10-04T20:42:00.001-06:00

Tonight was National Night Out in Texas..I think it happened during the Summer in other states..but we didn’t want to melt so we moved it to October.

We had a good time visiting with neighbors and Caroline got to play with some of her friends.

Mario thought it would be a good idea to ride his bike while carrying 4 camping chairs and a soccer ball. Right when he was almost to where we all were, he crashed into the curb. His first words were “I didn’t hit my head.” He’s all beat up with scrapes on his arms and legs. Ugh..what am I going to do with him?

2 and a half..

2011-10-03T20:44:00.001-06:00

Caroline had her 30 month appointment today. She was in a great mood and was very talkative. I had been talking to her about visiting Dr. C for a few days so she was excited. The fact that they have a bunch of toys in the waiting room and big paintings of trains in the rooms didn’t hurt either.

She’s still a big girl. 33 lbs 8 oz and 37.5 inches..90th percentile for both. Dr. C said her body mass is perfect. Her tubes are gone..I never noticed them falling out. She has all of her two-year molars. She got the flu mist instead of a shot and it was quick and painless..she didn’t even whine.

I talked to Dr. C about potty training and the fact that Caroline is not being very cooperative. She said we have two options, keep pushing the issue and stress us both out or wait until she’s ready and she’ll basically potty train herself. She said both of her kids potty trained themselves about a week before they turned 3.

I also talked to her about the paci and she said there should not be any negative consequences to her teeth until she’s 3 or 4 and she will willingly give it up when she’s ready.

I love my pedi.

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 7

2011-10-03T07:43:00.001-06:00

I ate clean all week until Saturday. We went to the football game and I had a burger on a white bun, a few nachos, and a few handfuls of popcorn.

I have realized that I really need to cut back on my snacking..especially on sweet things. For the past several weekends I have spent Sunday afternoon baking..and Sunday evening snacking. Ha. I've found some great recipes but I have very little self control when I know I have baked goods in the house.

I think I need to start replacing my morning smoothie with oatmeal. There are so many different ways to top it and it always looks so good. It's also very filling.

I didn't exercise at all last week. I have no excuses this week because it's supposed to be in the upper 80's/low 90's all week, which is a cool down for us. It won't happen tonight because Caroline has dance class..and tomorrow is national night out and my parents are coming for dinner. On Wednesday, I am walking around the neighborhood!

Current weight: 193.6..still not back to where I was 2 weeks ago.
Weight lost this week: 1.2 pounds
Total weight lost since starting clean eating: 5.2 pounds

First haircut and a football game..

2011-10-02T18:04:00.001-06:00

Caroline had her first haircut yesterday. We held out for 2 1/2 years but it was time to at least even up the ends. We went to a place called Snip-Its and she loved it. They have little TVs at every chair and the girls get a bow and sparkles in their hair after the cut. Every kid gets a prize after the cut too.

Here’s the after..she trimmed the bottom and added long layers.

After the haircut, we went to the Texas State football game with some friends who have a little girl that is 5 days younger than Caroline. We all had a great time..especially the girls.

We have her 2 1/2 year appointment tomorrow so I’ll update with her stats. I’m very interested to see what they are because she has really thinned out over the past 6 months.

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 6

2011-09-26T07:10:00.000-06:00

I did well all week until Saturday. We went to the fair and I didn’t eat anything there, which was hard to do, then we went over to our friends' house and they ordered pizza. I had two pieces. I also had a few vodka and cranberry drinks.

After a night of drinking, I decided that I wanted something sweet on Sunday so I made these Clean Eating Banana Blueberry Muffins, which were pretty good..and not unhealthy..when you eat one. I ate at least 5 or 6 throughout the day yesterday. Ugh. I love to bake but I have no self control when that kind of stuff is in the house.

I made Santa Fe Chicken in the crock pot while I took Caroline to soccer and HEB and we had that for lunch. We had Spiced Pork Tenderloin with fresh green beans sauteed with onion and garlic for dinner. I have never made fresh green beans before..I always just buy the cans but the fresh ones were on sale this week so I decided to try them..yum!

For snacking yesterday (I did too much snacking) I made Kale Chips for the first time. I have heard of people making them but I had no idea what kale was or what it tasted like. The chips are pretty good..I'll make them again.

The weigh-in this morning was not pretty. I guess it proves that I will pay for cheating and not being active. I didn't work out again this week. We cannot get rid of the summer weather here! The high today is 101..ugh. i need to get my butt in gear and finish my Wii Active challenge.

Current weight: 194.8
Weight gained this week: 1.6 pounds
Weight lost since starting clean eating: 4 pounds

Comal County Fair..

2011-09-25T15:55:00.001-06:00

We took Caroline to the Comal County Fair in New Braunfels yesterday. We knew she would love it because she’s finally over 36 inches tall and can ride a lot of the rides. We bought her a wristband and definitely got our money’s worth out of it. It was so hot, but she didn’t care at all. She rode one ride 7 times in a row. She did refuse to ride another ride because all the open cars were “too for boys.”

Dance class went SO much better last week! She was excited before it started and told me that she wasn’t going to cry..she started crying as soon as she saw her teacher though. That lasted less than a minute and she actually participated and had a great time. She was so worked up that she had a hard time going to bed that night.

Here are some pictures from yesterday.

We are looking forward to the Kyle Fair in a few weeks..and Wurstfest in November.

Flashback Friday..

2011-09-23T08:50:00.000-06:00

A year ago..back when I was 178 and Caroline was 18 months old.

Wordless Wednesday..new highlights

2011-09-21T11:25:00.001-06:00

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 5

2011-09-18T17:45:00.001-06:00

Still going strong. I didn’t cheat at all this week. I didn’t exercise either..I need to get back into that routine. The forecast for the entire week shows temps under 100..a few days are even under 90! I want to start walking again.

I made a few new recipes this week:

Apple Zucchini Bread..this is not very sweet. I added raisins and ate it with almond butter and honey.

Individual Meatloaf..yum! I made these for us to take for lunch. The recipe made three meatloaves.

Sweet Potato Chips..pretty good..they shrunk up a lot so one potato didn’t go very far.

Balsamic Chicken..I served this over whole wheat spaghetti. Very good. I’m taking leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus..pretty darn good. I roasted the red pepper on my gas stove.

Mario has lost over 15 pounds since we started clean eating..of course. Haha. He does run 7 miles a day though.

I hope everyone else is doing well and staying on track. Last week's gain was not water weight because it took the whole week to lose it. It took one night to gain it and a week to lose it. Ugh.

Current weight: 193.2
Weight lost this week: 1.4 pounds
Weight lost since starting clean eating: 5.6 pounds

Dance class and McKenna Children’s Museum..

2011-09-17T20:16:00.001-06:00

I know that I talked about Caroline’s Mommy and Me dance class that we did over the Summer but I’m not sure if I mentioned that we’re doing a 2 1/2 to 3 year old combo class (ballet, tap and tumbling) now through May. For the first class, they let the parents stay in the room and Caroline spent 90% of the time sitting in my lap watching everyone else. She refused to participate, which is not like her. Her allergies seemed to be bothering her so I chalked it up to her not feeling well.

The second class was this past week and the parents were not in the room. Before the class started, she was making up her own tap routine, running around with one of her friends in the class and goofing off. As soon as it was time for class to start, she freaked out. She was hysterically crying for several minutes and I was pretty close to going in there and getting her and asking for my money back. The teacher called for reinforcements and another teacher held her for the first 1/3 of the class to calm her down. I ended up telling them to try her paci and she finished the rest of the class with a paci in her mouth. She did participate, though she didn’t seem thrilled about it. She has been saying all week that she doesn’t want to go to dance class.

I want to stick it out..at least for a little while longer because I think she will get used to it. I know she likes to dance because she pretends she has tap shoes on at home and “practices.” I guess my outgoing, friendly little girl is becoming more timid.

We spent several hours today at the McKenna Children’s Museum in New Braunfels. It was awesome! Waayy better than the Austin Children’s Museum. It was super clean and had a lot of play areas..and a giant water table outside.

They have a grocery store with several carts, lots of items (that are organized and in good shape) and two registers.

They have a space area..this is Caroline doing “blast off.”

Here I am with the helmet on.

They have a hospital with a newborn nursery. This is baby “Kyle”..every one of Caroline’s toys is “Kyle.”

They have an outdoor camping set up with canoes, tents, a fake fire, etc.

They have a train table.

There is a ranch area with “bulls” and a chicken coop.

There’s a house with dress up clothes..she was upset that she couldn’t find a “princess shirt” to go with her skirt so we turned the skirt into a dress.

The water table was a big hit..I’m glad I brought extra clothes.

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 4

2011-09-11T20:08:00.001-06:00

As I posted yesterday, I cheated on Saturday. We were at a wedding and they served BBQ. I could have stuck to the brisket and chicken but I ate mashed potatoes and beans..and had two pieces of wedding cake..and several beers. Oh well. I got back on track yesterday.

We tried a few new recipes this week. Here they are with my opinion of them:
Clean Eating Fish Tacos..we used tilapia..they were pretty good. I’d like a little more spice on the fish next time.

Chicken tacos again with a can of kidney beans and a can of corn added.

Slow Cooker Pineapple Pork Roast..OMG..soo good! I’m making this again today. I made mashed cauliflower to go with it..it’s supposed to taste like mashed potatoes..it tasted like cauliflower. Ha.

Pumpkin Pancakes..I used Truvia instead of sucanat..these were pretty good, a little bland, but I ate them with almond butter and honey. I thought it was cool that the base of the recipe is oat flour, which is just oatmeal that is run through a blender.

Chicken Santa Fe..very good. It has the consistency of soup and I served it over brown rice.

Clean Eating Brownies..these are pretty darn good!

My weigh-in this morning was not pretty. I'm hoping most of it is water weight from my cheating on Saturday. We'll see.

Current weight: 194.6
Weight gained this week: 1.4 pounds

Cooler weather..

2011-09-11T19:42:00.001-06:00

I was actually below 100 all last week and we took advantage of it by finally playing outside.

Caroline did so well kicking the soccer ball around that we decided to sign her up for indoor soccer. Her first class was today and it was a big hit. It’s not an actual team at this age, it’s a bunch of games to teach them some of the soccer basics.

After passing by the local high school band practicing on the way to daycare every morning, we decided to take Caroline to a high school football game on Friday. She loved it! She loved the cheerleaders, the band and the mascot.

Mario and I went to a wedding yesterday and had a blast..I didn’t stick to clean eating while we were there so that’s my one cheat meal for a while. The zipper on the dress I was going to wear broke so I ended up having to wear another dress I have.

The forecast for this week is not pretty..we’re supposed to be over 100 almost every day..I’m so over this weather!

Labor Day Weekend..

2011-09-06T18:39:00.001-06:00

We started off Labor Day weekend by going to the Austin Children’s Museum for the first time. Look how huge Caroline is in her stroller.

She was a little freaked out by all the people at the museum when we first got there but she got over it pretty quickly. I’ve noticed that she is starting to become a little more shy or timid around new people or places.

On Sunday my parents came over and we hung out and watched football. I didn’t take any pictures..I’ve been a slacker in that department lately.

On Monday we woke up to beautiful weather and decided to head to Zilker park to play on the playground and ride the train.
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She’s such a big girl now..she didn’t want any help on the stairs.

Yesterday evening we watched one of Caroline’s friends for a few hours and she got him to wear a dress and walk around in plastic heels. It was too funny.

We have been glued to the news since Sunday when a bunch of wildfires broke out all around Austin. Please keep everyone that has been affected and the firefighters in your thoughts and prayers.

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 3

2011-09-05T08:03:00.001-06:00

I’m still going strong with the clean eating and I didn’t eat anything that wasn’t clean all week. I did do a lot more snacking this week because I was craving sweets..which I’ll blame on it being that time of the month.

I stuck with the same schedule of coffee and a smoothie, then yogurt with berries, nuts, and honey, the a piece of fruit, then lunch. We grilled chicken again for the week and used that to make sandwiches for lunch. My afternoon snack was carrots and hummus and a piece of fruit and we tried some new dinner recipes.

I made this meatloaf this week and it was good. I just used extra lean ground beef.

Sparkpeople has a lot of clean eating recipes..or recipes that are easy to clean up. They seem to be hit or miss as far as taste goes. I made these roasted pork chops with apples and sweet potatoes and I do not recommend them! I did some baking using SP recipes and everything was pretty good. I made banana nut bread again with applesauce instead of oil and oatmeal raisin cookies with applesauce instead of oil and agave instead of the cane juice.

I made this carrot bread with agave instead of sucanat and applesauce instead of oil and and it was good.

I made this shepherd’s pie with sweet potatoes and without the sour cream. It was pretty good.

My parents came over yesterday for a BBQ and we grilled bison burgers..I was nervous about eating bison but these were soo good! I also made potato salad and coleslaw..the potato salad had way too much olive oil..I’d make it again, but really reducing the amount of olive oil.

We made our first ever trips to Whole Foods and Central Market this weekend..wow, they both have so much good stuff. Whole Foods was overwhelming but I could see myself shopping at Central Market pretty often.

Current weight: 193.2
Weight lost this week: 1 pound
Weight lost since starting clean eating: 5.6 pounds

McFatty Monday..clean eating week 2

2011-08-29T10:11:00.000-06:00

As I said last week, I went to Port Aransas for a bachelorette party for the weekend. I took my own food and made decent choices when we went out to eat twice (grilled shrimp with green veggies..they probably weren't clean, but they were better than other options). I did drink because I didn't want to miss out on all the fun. I stuck with vodka and cranberry and skinny girl margaritas.

I still feel great and my pants are fitting better already.

My meal plan was pretty similar to last week's, except I made tuna (mixed with hummus) for lunches instead of the grilled chicken.

We did try a new slow cooker chicken with olive oil and basil brown rice (minus the beans) and garlic almond broccoli (though it looked nothing like the picture). We also ate the crock pot salsa chicken tacos (homemade taco seasoning, frozen chicken breasts, and a jar of all natural salsa) and added diced zucchini and pineapple after it was shredded..OMG..so good. My parents loved it too.

I did three days of the Wii Active 6 week challenge (and danced) last week.

Current weight: 194.2
Weight lost this week: 1.8 pounds
Weight lost since starting clean eating: 4.6 pounds

Low key weekend..

2011-08-21T20:14:00.001-06:00

I didn't pick my camera up at all this weekend. We spent yesterday shopping..we hit up Kohls, Costco, and HEB. This was the first weekend since I can remember that we didn't go out to eat at all! It feels great!

Caroline's cousin gave her a bunch of dress up clothes that she had saved from when she was little. They are a huge hit! That's pretty much all she wants to wear around the house..paired with plastic heels of course.

I'm off to Port Aransas on Friday for a bachelorette party. It's going to be weird to be at the beach by myself. I'll actually be able to sit!

New jewelry.

Oops..

2011-08-21T10:39:00.002-06:00

If you saw my McFatty Monday post in your reader, ignore it. ;) I got started on it early and I'll post the updated version tomorrow morning.

McFatty Monday..

2011-08-21T10:36:00.001-06:00

After one full week of clean eating, I feel great! Like I said last week, we got rid of all the non-clean foods in our house and gave them to my parents. (Caroline still has her own cabinet that includes some non-clean foods, though we’re working on getting her to eat what we eat).

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past month researching clean eating and have visited pretty much every website there is. I’ve been bookmarking clean recopies and we tried a few of them this week.

Here’s what my meal plan looked like last week:

Monday:
Meal 1
Coffee with skim milk and 1 Truvia (after doing further research, the plan is to limit the use of Truvia..I may switch to straight Stevia, but it’s pretty bitter)
Smoothie: blueberries, greek yogurt, skim milk, honey, and ground flaxseeds
Meal 2
Greek yogurt with strawberries, granola, honey, and ground flaxseeds
Meal 3
Sandwich with: Alpine Valley Organic Sprouted Honey Wheat bread from Costco (this bread is awesome!), hummus, sliced grilled chicken breast (we grilled chicken and sliced it on Sunday), lettuce, and mushrooms
Plum
Meal 4
Mixed fresh fruit (I asked for fruit for my birthday at work instead of a cake)
Meal 5
Mexican Shrimp Cobb Salad (instead of plain shrimp, I made Cilantro Lime Shrimp to top the salad)
Creamy Cilantro Tomatillo dressing (I doubled the amount of greek yogurt instead of using mayo)
Meal 6 (I am so used to eating desert so I’m doing 6 meals for now)
1/2 cup old fashioned oats with 1 cup water, honey, raisins, and walnuts

Tuesday:
Meal 1
Coffee
Smoothie: 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup blueberries, greek yogurt, skim milk, honey, ground flaxseeds
Meal 2
Same yogurt as Monday except with slivered almonds instead of granola
Meal 3
Leftover salad and dressing
1 cup red grapes
Meal 4
8 whole wheat crackers with 1 tbs natural almond butter
Plum
Meal 5
Crockpot chicken tacos: homemade taco seasoning, 3 frozen chick breasts, 1 jar of all natural salsa
Whole wheat tortilla (the ones I bought have an iffy ingredient so I’m on the lookout for some clean tortillas or wraps..let me know if you know of any)
avocado, lettuce, cheese (per some things I’ve read, we’re doing reduced fat, white block cheese)
Corn
Meal 6
Mixed melons

Wednesday:
Meal 1
Coffee
Smoothie: same, but with 1/2 banana and a peach
Meal 2
Yogurt: same
Apple
Meal 3
Sandwich: same as Monday
String cheese
Grapes
Meal 4
6 crackers with almond butter
Peach
Meal 5
Broccoli and Cheese Omelet topped with avocado and salsa
Black beans
Meal 6
Oatmeal: same as Monday but with 1/2 the amount of oats and water

Thursday:
Meal 1
Coffee
Smoothie: same but with 1/2 mango, a peach, and 1/2 banana
Meal 2
Yogurt: same
Meal 3
Same sandwich
Grapes
Meal 4
8 crackers with natural peanut butter
Pear
Meal 5
Balsamic Marinated Pork Chops
Greed beans
Sweet Potato Fries
Homemade Honey Mustard sauce (I am so used to having condiments)
Meal 6
Oatmeal: same

Friday
Meal 1
Coffee
Smoothie: 1/2 mango, 1/2 banana
Meal 2
Cottage cheese (we ran out of yogurt): prepared like the yogurt
Apple
Meal 3
Sandwich: same
Grapes
Meal 4
8 crackers with almond butter
Meal 5
Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole
Meal 6
Small bowl of shredded wheat with raisins and 1 packet Truvia

Saturday
Meal 1
Coffee
Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes: I omitted the banana and nuts and added blueberries, I used unsweetened applesauce instead of oil, I spread almond butter on them and drizzled with a little honey (OMG..soo good!)
Meal 2
Smoothie: same but with 1/4 cup strawberries and 1/4 cup blueberries
Large fruit cup from Chick-fil-a (Caroline wanted nuggets)
Meal 3
Leftover cheesy beef and rice casserole
Plum
Meal 4
1/2 leftover pancake (dry)
Package of dried apples
Meal 5
Baked chicken: seasoned with juice from an orange, juice from a lemon, and pepper
Sweet potato: topped with cinnamon and honey
Green beans

I’m typing this up on Sunday morning so that’s all I have for you this week. Can you tell I have a sweet tooth? I’m going to try to incorporate more veggies and cut back on the honey. Haha. I haven’t been counting calories and I probably won’t again until I hit a plateau. I guess the good thing about being so over weight is that the weight comes off pretty easily when you’re not pigging out all day.

I started over with the Wii Active 6 week challenge and did the first 5 days last week.

Current weight: 196
Weight lost this week: 2.8 lbs
Weight lost since starting clean eating: 2.8 lbs

Vacation..

2011-08-16T20:12:00.001-06:00

I planned on posting a recap of our week at the beach on Sunday but I was busy stocking up on clean foods and prepping meals and snacks for the week.

Anyway. I was so nice to get away for a week but I will say that vacation with a 2 1/2 year old is not much of a vacation. Haha. It was fun though and Caroline was everyone’s entertainment all week.

We got to the beach house a little before my parents so we unloaded all of our stuff onto the deck and decided to fly Caroline’s kite.

Here’s a view of the house from the beach.

Caroline helped Baca grill.

We went walking on the beach at night and it was so peaceful..and dark..I wore my brother’s headlamp.

Caroline tried out the headlamp too.

We spent a few hours in the morning at the beach, then headed to the house for lunch and naps, and headed back out to the beach in the late afternoon-early evening.

We did actually get Caroline to nap in an inflatable boat under the canopy a couple of times.

Bringing toys was a good idea!

Movies were a good idea also! We watched the Jungle Book no less than 5 times.

What contributed to my weight gain.

Washing her hands..she wasn’t a fan of being dirty..if we put sand on our legs etc., she would say “eww Mommy..yucky, wash it off.”

See our kite? We left it flying the whole week and it was gone when we woke up the last day.

Looking for crabs on the last night..we bought flash lights.

McFatty Monday..starting fresh

2011-08-15T06:06:00.001-06:00

We're back from vacation..where I ate a lot of bad food and didn't exercise at all. Not surprisingly, I gained 3.4 pounds since my last weigh-in.

With that being said, I am super motivated to get healthy and active. I purged all the crap food that we had in our house (donated it to my parents) and stocked up on 'clean' foods. I've read pretty much every clean eating website out there and our meals and snacks are pretty much planned out. Mario's on board and excited.

Since I'm now over the weight I was when I started trying to lose weight again around March, I'm starting my ticker over. I lost 60+ pounds counting calories and I hope I can have similar results with clean eating, while just becoming healthier.

Clean eating starting weight: 198.8!!

29..

2011-08-14T07:01:00.001-06:00

Today marks the start of my last year in my 20's. This year is all about being healthy and feeling good about myself!

I'll post later today about the relaxing vacation we just got back from..and tomorrow about all the weight I gained while on that vacation.

Here's a picture from last night..my parents watched Caroline and we got to go out.

Wordless Wednesday..first beer in 7 months..

2011-08-03T06:08:00.001-06:00

McFatty Monday..0.8 pound loss

2011-08-01T05:47:00.001-06:00

I lost a little weight since last Monday but I'm still over 195! Ugh.

I had a comment last week from Libby about eating clean and I spent most of last week researching clean eating. It seems great, and more healthy, than just counting calories or cutting out carbs.

The plan is to get started after we get back from the beach in two weeks. I'm going to get a book about clean eating to read while we're at the beach. Mario's on board and we're looking forward to being healthier.

Current weight: 195.4
Weight lost this week: 0.8 pounds

Storm chasers..or not

2011-07-31T15:57:00.001-06:00

We had been planning a trip to Port Aransas with some friends for almost two months and over the past week the local news stations started focusing on a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that looked to be heading toward Texas. By Thursday, it looked like the now Tropical Storm Don was going to hit the Corpus area, which is right where we were supposed to be heading on Friday. It wasn’t supposed to be that bad and was going to clear out by Saturday afternoon so we decided to go ahead and go.

My friend’s mom recently bought a condo in Port A so we got to stay for free. It was really nice and sleeps 12. If you need a place to stay down there, let me know and I’ll give you the contact info.

We made an ice cream pit stop halfway through the drive.

Giving her ice cream, then strapping her into the car was not a great idea.

When we got to the condo, we decided to walk over to the beach to check out the storm rolling in.

We didn’t put swim suits on because we weren’t planning on getting in the water. Everyone ended up soaking wet..it was fun.

The condo was three-stories and Caroline and Anthony had fun going up and down the stairs.

The storm ended up hitting South of Corpus and we didn’t even get any rain. Saturday was beautiful and we spent all day at the beach.

Caroline even napped under the canopy for almost 2 hours>

After the beach, we headed to Moby Dicks for dinner. It was good..even though we had a 1.5 hour wait.

We rode the ferry on the way home. Caroline thought it was cool to ride on a boat in the car.

We’re working Monday through Thursday this week, then heading to the beach for 7 days. Can’t wait!

McFatty Monday..way off track!

2011-07-24T20:40:00.001-06:00

Wow, the scale this morning said 196.2!! That's 1.8 lbs higher than last Monday and almost 5 lbs higher than last Tuesday...it's also higher than when I got back on track a few months ago. Maybe this will be the kick in the rear I need to stop watching reality TV with a bowl of ice cream every evening!? (I'm not giving up the reality TV but maybe I can do something more productive while I'm watching.

Thanks for the comments y’all! I’m reading them and pondering things. I just can’t figure out an easy way to post comments on my phone.

Jessica suggested doing a 10 pound challenge for money and I think it’s a great idea..just not right now. Haha. We’re going to the beach this weekend, then we’re going on vacation for a week at the beginning of August. If I start a weight loss challenge now, I might as well put the check in the mail. My plan is to get back on track after vacation.

I do like Jessica’s suggestion of focusing on the working out side of things for a while and cutting myself some slack on the eating. My goal is to work out Monday through Thursday this week since we’re leaving for the beach on Friday. I usually want to eat healthier when I’m exercising anyway so maybe that will be the kick-start I need.

Angela suggested doing a book club and I'm game. What book should we start with?

Current weight: 196.2
Weight GAINED this week: 1.4 pounds since last Monday..we'll see where things stand tomorrow.

Not many pictures..

2011-07-24T19:29:00.001-06:00

We went to Sea World again yesterday and I didn’t take the camera. There are only so many pictures you can take at the same place and this was our 7th trip since April. We spent the day at the water park and Caroline even napped on a lounge chair (in the shade) for an hour, then we headed to feed the dolphins and visit the aquarium. This was Caroline’s first time seeing the dolphins and aquarium because she slept through it last time.

After Sea World, we went to Mario’s sister’s house and changed clothes to go out to eat. We went back to their house after dinner and spent some time at their neighborhood park. Caroline had a blast. Her cousin gave her two big bags full of dress up clothes, shoes, and jewelry that she saved from when she was little. Caroline loves to dress up and she loves plastic heels and jewelry!

We watched Caroline’s friend Anthony for a few hours today. They have a great time together..and they sure know how to make a mess! Look at this room.

Caroline was worn out from making that huge mess.

Here’s the room after she woke up from her nap.

This coming weekend we’re headed to Port Aransas with Anthony and his parents. It should be fun! The Friday after that we are headed to Galveston for a week. I can’t wait!

Flashback Friday..

2011-07-22T22:03:00.001-06:00

4 years ago this week we closed on our house.

McFatty Tuesday..

2011-07-19T04:58:00.001-06:00

The scale this morning said 191.8, which is 2.6 pounds less than yesterday and 0.4 less than last Monday. It makes me feel better but it does nothing for my motivation. How can I lose weight when I've been eating junk and not exercising?

Thanks for the comments yesterday..at least I'm not alone in my feelings about food.

Current weight: 191.8
Weight lost since last Monday: 0.4 pounds

McFatty Monday..2 pound GAIN

2011-07-18T05:34:00.001-06:00

My name is Stephanie and I'm a food addict. I need to do more research, but I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to food. I use it as a stress reliever, as something to do when I'm bored, as a social activity, etc.

I know how to lose weight, I know most of the tips and tricks, I've done them all in the past..and I've been successful. For some reason, I have just lost my motivation lately. I seem to feel a weight lifted off my shoulders when I allow myself to eat what I want (or not exercise). I feel a sense of calm..which is replaced by dread when I'm about to step on the scale in the morning.

I need tips on finding my willpower. Any suggested books (though I've read a few on the topic)?

Current weight: 194.4
Weight GAINED this week: 2 pounds

Lazy Weekend..

2011-07-17T20:48:00.001-06:00

This was our second weekend in a row without any big plans. I went to a bridal shower on Saturday, then my parents and sister watched Caroline and Mario and I had a date night. We went to Zorba..a Greek restaurant. It was pretty good..I had never eaten Greek food before. After dinner we went to the movies..we saw Horrible Bosses..it was hilarious! We ended up heading home at 9:45 even though we had a babysitter for the rest of the night..we were just tired. Are we old or what?

Caroline had fun playing dress up yesterday and she wanted me to take pictures.

I made these cupcakes today and they were pretty good. Whenever Caroline sees cake or cupcakes she wants to sing Happy Birthday. We decided to light a candle and sing.

Instead of going to a pool today we decided to fill up the pool in the backyard. We all got in and had a great time.

McFatty Monday..2.2 lb GAIN

2011-07-11T05:45:00.001-06:00

Yikes..where is my motivation? I do pretty well for the first couple days of the week..and I see results..then I get off track and get lazy.

I worked out twice last week..I'm supposed to be working out 5 days a week! I have been snacking way too much!

I'm going to weigh in again tomorrow to see what happens after a normal day of eating.

Current weight: 192.4
Weight GAINED this week: 2.2 pounds

Down time..

2011-07-10T19:03:00.001-06:00

This was the first weekend in a long time that we didn’t have anything planned. It was kind of nice.

We had swim lessons on Friday evening and Caroline was not having it. She said she didn’t want to go swimming when we were on the way to the pool, but we figured she would be fine once she got into the water..nope. She didn’t want to participate and kept wanting us to get out of the pool. We finally decided to just leave early.

When we got home on Friday evening, Mario’s parents called and said they were going to come visit in the morning. We met them at Cracker Barrel Saturday morning, then took them to Costco because we needed dog food. They had never been there before so we spent a few hours going up and down every aisle. Caroline did pretty well..and loved the samples. She fell asleep as soon as we got into the car and stayed asleep for a few hours after we got home. We rented a movie after she woke up, then went grocery shopping. We were in bed by 10pm.

We decided to go to Landa Pool today since we didn’t have much time outside yesterday.

I have an addiction to buying swim suits for Caroline. This one was on sale for $10 from Osh Kosh.

We have less than a month before we head to this beach house in Galveston for a week..I can’t wait.

Caroline, everybody loves you..

2011-07-09T20:27:00.001-06:00

Caroline is obsessed with Sean McConnell's song Caroline. She calls it "everybody" and requests it every single time we get in the car. As soon as it finishes playing, she asks for it again. It was cute at first, but it gets old pretty quickly.

Here's a video of her singing it.

YouTube Video

Flashback Friday..

2011-07-08T06:57:00.000-06:00

2009: Laughing in the Bumbo (15 weeks).

2010: Playing in a tent with Daddy (15 months).

4th of July Weekend..

2011-07-05T20:08:00.001-06:00

We started out the weekend with swim lessons of Friday evening. I took the day off from work so we ended up showing up early. Caroline had fun checking every inch of the place out..and trying on my sun glasses.

Look how long her hair is! We might have to get it trimmed soon.

After swim lessons, we went to get ice cream at Dairy Queen with some friends.

On Saturday we went to the Comal River to hang out with a friend and her family. They camp on the river every July 4th weekend and we hung out with them before, but it’s been at least 5 years. I was shocked over the number of people on the river! I have never seen it that packed. We did a mini float and Caroline rode on my lap..the water was a little cold for her liking.

Caroline watched the guys play dominoes.

and napped outside.

On Sunday we went to Sea World. We went straight to the water park this time after waiting too late last weekend and not getting in. We ended up getting 5 chairs in the shade at the wave pool, which is hard to do! Some friends met us there and I realized that it’s a lot easier getting Caroline to cooperate when her friends are with us.

How cute are these two!?

This was our 6th visit to Sea World this Summer and we had no idea that there was an area where you can feed the dolphins and an indoor aquarium. The dolphins were awesome..so cute and they felt so rubbery.

This is what you can buy for $6.

This was Caroline when we got to the dolphins. There was no way we were waking her up! She’ll have to see them another time.

On Monday morning we were invited to go to the movies to see Cars 2. We decided to give it a shot because we had two Fandango credits.

She did pretty well during the movie. She got a little restless about an hour into it and Mario walked around in the hallway with her for about 5 minutes.

My parents came over yesterday afternoon and we ate pork tenderloin..yum!

Look how dark Mario is! Caroline definitely has his skin.

We went over to a friend’s house on the next street over to watch the Kyle fireworks. We were one of the only cities in the area that was actually having fireworks and we didn’t want to mess with the crowds. We had a perfect view from their backyard.

The kids watch the fireworks in their cars.

McFatty Tuesday..0.2 pound loss

2011-07-05T05:07:00.001-06:00

Well, it's better than gaining or not losing, but it's still not back under 190. Once again, I did really well Monday-Wednesday and started slacking off on Thursday. I had a girls night on Thursday and that involved drinking margaritas and eating Mexican food. I did ok on Friday..I even ate a grilled chicken salad at Dairy Queen, but I followed it up with a mini blizzard. :(

I only worked out 3 days last week..I was supposed to do 5. Back to work today and back on track.

Current weight: 190.2
Weight lost this week: 0.2 pounds
Total weight lost so far: 5.6 pounds

6 Months..

2011-07-01T14:59:00.000-06:00

Today marks the 6 month anniversary of Mario's injury. I can't believe it has only been 6 months and I can't believe it has already been 6 months at the same time. I don't talk about how things are going ~~much~~ ever on here. Mario is just not as comfortable having every detail of his life out here.

We are incredibly blessed that he was able to make such a quick physical recovery. He was able to go back to work full time after about 2 months. We're still dealing with some residual issues that are not uncommon in survivors of traumatic brain injuries, and they're not easy to deal with. Our lives have definitely changed over the past 6 months. Things aren't as carefree as they used to be. After being in a rut for a while, and realizing that fixing things on his own is not going to happen, he/we are finally taking steps in the right direction. There is a light at the end of the tunnel...hopefully our lives will get back to normal, or better, soon.

We are still eternally grateful for all of the love, thoughts, prayers, donations, etc. throughout this whole ordeal.

If you have any specific questions, leave them in the comments section and I'll answer them next week.

Flashback Friday..

2011-07-01T06:40:00.001-06:00

4th of July weekend 2009 (3 months old).

4th of July weekend 2010 (15 months old).

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T06:09:00.001-06:00

Dinner.

McFatty Tuesday..

2011-06-28T05:07:00.001-06:00

Ok, that's more like it. I weighed in this morning at 190.4, which is 0.8 less than last Tuesday. Maybe I should switch my weight in days to Tuesdays? Or maybe I'll keep doing both to hopefully motivate me to do better over the weekend.

I tracked my calories yesterday and did day 5 of the 30 day challenge, which registered as day 4 because I apparently turned off the Wii last Friday before it registered the workout I had just finished. I guess I'm doing the 31 day challenge.

Current weight: 190.4..I better be back under 190 next week
Weight lost so far: 5.4 pounds

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

McFatty Monday..0.8 pound GAIN

2011-06-27T06:06:00.001-06:00

I'm going to weight in tomorrow too because I think I retain water on Mondays..probably from the crap food I eat over the weekend and the lack of water. I try to drink 3 bottles of water during the work day Monday through Friday..I'm lucky if I drink one on the weekends.

I started the Wii Active 30 day challenge last Tuesday and I've done the first 4 days so far. Whew, I was sore most of last week from the squats and lunges.

I started tracking my calories again last week and I did really well Monday-Wednesday. We went to Gattitown for dinner on Thursday and I didn't just stick to the salad bar. I ate whatever I wanted over the weekend.

Overall, I feel motivated to continue getting back on track.

Current weight: 192
Weight GAINED this week: 0.8 pounds
Total weight lost so far: 3.8 pounds

Terrible 2's..

2011-06-26T10:10:00.002-06:00

The whining/fits were bad this week! I'm hoping it was just a fluke and this is not what we're going to be dealing with from now on.

I didn't take any pictures with my camera this week, but I do have some phone pics.

We went to Gattitown on Thursday because we had a coupon for a free adult meal that was about to expire. They have a pretty good salad bar with lots of fruits and veggies..Caroline loves it. She also loves the game area.

We picked up Caroline's friend from daycare on Friday and they had fun playing in the playroom for a while before his mom picked him up.

We went to Sea World again yesterday and it was a mad house. We made the mistake of waiting to go to the water park until around 4 and there was an hour + wait. Caroline was cranky and it was hot so we just headed home.

Here are some pics from yesterday. My parents met us there.

We're headed to the Kyle pool today. Caroline starts swimming lessons there this week. She's going to be busy for the next month with dance on Mondays and swimming on Wednesdays and Fridays. It should be fun.

Shutterfly site..

2011-06-23T11:55:00.002-06:00

If you want to see even more of my pictures, you can go to Caroline's Shutterfly site and check them out. I finally added all of my pictures up through Memorial Day. Enjoy!

McFatty Tuesday..

2011-06-21T06:44:00.001-06:00

I didn't really gain 5.4 pounds in one week..well, I did, but some of it was water weight apparently because I peed no less than 10 times at work yesterday (and I'm not pregnant!) and I'm down to 191.2 this morning. I only gained 2 pounds last week, which still is not good.

I started tracking my calories again yesterday using My Fitness Pal. I rearranged my goals and I'm supposed to stay under 1560 per day, which is a lot less scary than 1200 for some reason. Anyway, I tracked all day yesterday and stayed under by 39 calories. Yay for progress..and not snacking during the Bachelorette!

Make sure to check out Angela's blog about her weight loss journey also. She's a much better writer than I am!

Current weight: 191.2
Weight lost so far: 4.6 pounds

McFatty Monday..5.4 pound GAIN

2011-06-20T05:57:00.001-06:00

Really? Yikes! Is it even possible to gain that much in a week. I didn't even eat bad during the week. I ate some bad stuff over the weekend but dang, that's a big gain. It is that time of the month so maybe that is contributing to it.

I worked out exactly zero times this week. I need to get this under control like now.

Current weight: 194.6
Weight GAINED this week: 5.4 pounds
Weight lost so far: 1.2 pounds..ha! I guess I'm pretty much back to where I was in January.

These pants are pretty tight.

Father’s Day weekend at the river..

2011-06-19T21:13:00.001-06:00

We spend every Father’s Day weekend on the Guadalupe river. A bunch of family and friends from the Houston area have been coming to New Braunfels for this annual river trip since my dad was a little kid.

This year the river was really low..like lower than most of us have ever seen it..and it was perfect. We didn’t get to float, but we all had a blast hanging out in lawn chairs in the water..especially Caroline. She’s already a river rat!

Here’s a picture from Caroline’s first year at the river.

Here’s a picture from last year.

And here are the pictures from this year.

She just loves babies and “helping” with them. She is so sweet.

She insisted on wearing her sunglasses to watch Sesame Street on my phone.

A few years ago the river was up to the bottom of the black railing.

Having a conversation about something.

Helping me fix the camera because I was holding it “the wrong way”

I was trying to get her to nap on a pallet on the table. She was so close to falling asleep, but it didn’t happen.

2 years, 2 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days..

2011-06-16T20:58:00.000-06:00

Someone just pointed out to me that this is Caroline's age today. I almost missed it! I haven't done an update on what she has been up to in a while, so I guess I'll do that now.

Her talking..oh my gosh..it's just crazy how much she talks..she uses complete sentences all the time and has a really good memory..you can barely mention something and think she's not even paying attention and she'll bring it up a week later. She uses big words and her pronounciation is getting pretty good.

She is such a ham! She is very dramatic and enthusiastic about things. She laughs a lot and is overall very happy. She does throw fits from time to time but they really aren't that bad..unless she's over tired.

She still uses a paci..we're not fighting that battle right now because her pedi is not concerned about her giving it up right now. When we get out of the car at daycare she hands it to me and she goes without it all day.

She is interested in potty related things and tells us before she goes, but she flat out refuses to sit on the potty. We're not going to force the issue right now..I think she'll let us know when the time is right.

She is still not a great eater. She loves milk and drinks more than she should. We do have her on skim, but I know that doesn't help with trying to get her to eat better. Now that I think about it, she has been eating better over the last week. It may be because she is going through a growth spurt.

Speaking of that, she has really thinned out and grown taller over that last few months! She's in 3T clothes but her shirts are getting short. She's close to outgrowing her size 8 shoes. Her hair is getting so long! She still has never had it cut.

Here's a picture from last weekend. We celebrated my sister's 24th birthday. Pretty much every birthday is about Caroline now..she always gets to blow out the candle.

Here's a picture from this evening. She wanted to wear her Yo Gabba Gabba panties over her diaper.

Wordless Wednesday..yikes!

2011-06-15T18:16:00.001-06:00

ETA: I just realized you can't really read that..at least it look blurry from my phone for some reason. It says 108 degrees..it's going to be a long, hot summer here!

First dance class..

2011-06-14T06:21:00.001-06:00

Caroline had her first mommy and me dace class yesterday. She did ok..she didn't want to sit still at first, then she didn't want to wait her turn. She laughed at the songs, but didn't really participate.

The class consisted of singing songs and following the directions in the songs and doing some tumbling. I think it will be a big hit once Caroline gets used to it. I wanted to put her straight into the 2 year old combo class where they're on their own without parents but it was full.

Oh, one big hit in the classroom was the giant wall of mirrors..she is definitely her Mother's daughter and loves to look in the mirror.

I bought a leotard and ballet shoes even though they aren't required for the class but she's in between sizes so I'll have to wait until she grows a little.

Here are a few cell phone pics that Mario took. He felt awkward being the only guy in the room.

McFatty Monday..1.4 pound loss

2011-06-13T06:29:00.001-06:00

I have no idea how I lost weight this week..I was so off track and ate a lot of fried food this weekend. I didn't do any exercise, though I said I was going to do the Wii. My goal is to get at least 3 days in this week.

I am ready to get back on track this week! I got all of the junk out of the house and I'm not happy with how my clothes are fitting these days.

I'm happy to be under 190 again and that's helping to motivate me.

Angela, how does ww work for you vs just counting calories? I use My Fitness Pal to count calories and I'm very successful when I actually track things and stay where I should.

Current weight: 189.2
Weight lost this week: 1.2 pounds
Total weight lost so far: 6.4 pounds

Here's a picture from this morning..still rocking the muffin top..I really don't want to dig the 14s back out.

Mini beach vacation..

2011-06-12T21:30:00.001-06:00

We took the day off on Friday and packed way too much stuff in the car and headed to Corpus Christi..Padre Island to be exact. I had heard some rumors about jellyfish and seaweed so I didn’t know what to expect from the beach. I was pleasantly surprised when we got there. We didn’t see a single jellyfish and the seaweed was nothing compared to what we usually see in Galveston.

We stayed at the Hawthorn Suites right across the street from the Holiday Inn, which is right on the beach. We got an awesome deal on Priceline! Some friend’s of ours stayed at the Holiday Inn so we still got to use their pool and enjoy the nightly live music.

Here we are during a pit stop on the way.

I was amazed by the number of windmills just outside of Corpus..those things are huge!

We made it! It took us 4 hours to get there because we took the back roads. Caroline did pretty well, though we ended up listing to the Yo Gabba Gabba Pandora station for most of the trip.

We got there, unloaded, and immediately headed out to the beach.

Caroline was a little leery of the water at first, but that changed quickly and she had a blast.

We ate at Docs on the island that night and the food was so good. There was an hour wait and I was very surprised at how well Caroline did. We had a beautiful view of the sunset at the restaurant.

Caroline colored on her cup.

We headed out to the beach around 8:30 on Saturday morning and spent all day out there. We took turns taking our little ones back to the hotel rooms for naps.

Some of our friends have a 4 year old daughter and Caroline had a blast running around with her and acting like a big girl.

Caroline learned how to drink out of a water bottle.

The seagulls where everywhere! They took half of my sandwich right out of my hand.

We had a wardrobe change after nap time because our suits were soaked and freezing.

After a fun day in the sun, we showered and headed to Snoopy’s for dinner. It was soo good.

They have an ice cream shop next door so we let the girls pick out their flavors..Caroline picked rainbow (rainbow sherbet).

After eating ice cream, we went to check out the birds in the water. The girls were calling them flamingos but I’m pretty sure they were cranes.

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to change into our swimsuits and check out the pools at the Holiday Inn. They had live music and the pool water was pretty warm. We all had a relaxing time.

Here’s a shot of our room from this morning. Every room at the Hawthorn comes with a full kitchen.

We stopped at a souvenir place on the way out of town and that was a disaster..Caroline was running around pulling things off the shelf. We bought her a shirt and headed out as quickly as possible.

We had a great time at the beach and now I’m even more excited about our week at a beachhouse in Galveston in August..I hope we don’t have a hurricane ruin that trip!

New blog design..

2011-06-12T20:59:00.001-06:00

If you haven’t seen it already, check out my new blog design by the wonderful Jumping Jax Designs. I entered a blog design give away contest a few months ago and I was one of the winners! I love it, she’s great. I even have a button that you can put on your site if you want.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-08T06:21:00.001-06:00

McFatty Monday..1.6 pound gain

2011-06-06T05:55:00.001-06:00

And..I'm back over 190. Yikes. I have no excuses. I ate and drank too much this past week. I didn't work out at all.

Angela posted a comment about being Weight Watchers buddies and I haven't been ignoring it, it's a good idea. I don't want to set myself up for failure though, so I'm not going to start this week. We have a lot of leftovers from our BBQ this weekend and we're going to Corpus for a mini vacation this coming weekend. I will get started next Monday!

It is already so hot here and it's hard to find motivation to work out outside. I am going to start doing the Wii Active 6 week challenge tonight. That's what I started with when I was 240+ a year and a half ago.

Here's a picture from this morning. I'll call it the return of the muffin top.

Current weight: 190.6
Weight GAINED this week: 1.6 pounds
Total weight lost so far: 5.2 pounds

Happy 30th Birthday Mario..

2011-06-05T13:39:00.001-06:00

Mario turned 30 on Wednesday and we had my parents over for some BBQ and cake on his actual birthday.

If you’re ever in the Kyle area, you should try Milt’s BBQ. It is soo good. They’ve won awards for being some of the best BBQ in central Texas.

We sang happy birthday and Caroline blew out the candle, then announced to everyone that she had just pooped. Ha! I wish we would have been video taping it.

Caroline is such a picky eater. The only meat she will eat is chicken nuggets. Good thing she loves corn on the cob.

The birthday boy doing what he does best..cleaning.

Yesterday we had a BBQ at our house and invited some friends over. We had a good turnout! We set up some pools for the kids and the adults set up a washer tournament. It was nice to catch up with old friends and new friends.

Caroline was pretty cranky all day and kept chewing on everything and drooling a lot. When I picked her up, I realized that she was running a fever. I’m pretty sure her 2 year molars are finally starting to make an appearance.

She did feel well enough to play dress up with the girls.

I didn’t take very many pictures because we had a full house, but we had a great time and look forward to hanging out with all of our friends again soon.

McFatty Tuesday..2.2 pound GAIN

2011-05-31T04:45:00.001-06:00

Yikes! I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. I was completely off the wagon all week. I even stopped at McD's on the way to work one morning instead of eating the bagel I packed.

The only exercise I did was carrying Caroline around in the pool. I need to start tracking my calories again to hold myself more accountable for all the crap I'm eating.

I was looking back through old posts and I'm pretty much right where I was at this time last year, though with a completely different attitude. Last year I had just broken through the 190's and I was motivated..this year I'm creeping back toward them.

Current weight: 189
Weight GAINED this week: 2.2 pounds
Weight lost so far: 6.8 pounds

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Memorial Weekend..

2011-05-30T16:50:00.001-06:00

A big thanks to everyone that has served our country, especially those that have given their lives so that we can enjoy our freedom.

We had a fun and eventful weekend. On Friday night we went to the Round Rock Express game. They have fireworks after the game on Fridays. Instead of wasting our money on seats, we paid to sit on the grass. We knew we would probably be chasing Caroline around the whole time anyway.

She didn’t seem to like the booming noise from the fireworks. Loud noises don’t usually bother her but she was clinging to me and hiding her face at first. I turned it into a game where we named all the colors of the fireworks and she got excited about them. When they were over she kept asking for more.

It was really windy, but that made the 95+ temperatures a little easier to deal with.

Caroline did a great job drinking out of a regular cup. We haven’t let her use a regular cup at home but it seems like we should start.

We spent Saturday at Sea World. It was a mad house but that was to be expected on a holiday weekend. We spent all day at the water park and never left. Caroline had a blast..she LOVES the water. She’s a huge fan of the wave pool and loves jumping over the waves.

We spent Sunday at Rock N River in Round Rock. Caroline loved the place last year and I knew it would be even better now that she’s bigger. We brought her puddle jumper and she had a blast “swimming.”

We got to the pool 30 minutes before it opened because we learned last year that in order to get a chair or table, you have to get there early.

Here’s Caroline having a snack while waiting to get in. We gave her some baked Cheetos and she loved them, but didn’t like the cheese all over her fingers..she kept wanting me to clean them off.

They even have slides for the big kids.

Mario being silly.

We went to the Kyle pool for a few hours this afternoon and Caroline loved jumping off the side into the water.

McFatty Monday will be McFatty Tuesday this week because I didn’t weigh-in this morning. I know it’s not going to be pretty.

Week in iPhone Pics..

2011-05-27T13:49:00.000-06:00

Asleep on the way to the pool

Meeting my parent's cat for the first time

First taste of salsa

Watching the Bachelorette

Sleeping in shades

Dinner with new hair

My hair..

2011-05-26T05:59:00.001-06:00

As I'm sure all of my Facebook friends know, I cut 10 inches off of my hair yesterday. Several of my friends have recently cut their hair and I was super tired of mine so I decided (pretty quickly) to go for it. I don't like to mull things over, I'm a do-er.

I went to ULTA, which is where I usually go, because your haircut is free with a 10 inch donation to Locks for Love. Since the haircut was free, I decided to splurge on some highlights.

This is the picture of what I wanted. A long swing bob.

Here's the before.

It's gone.

Under the dryer.

Rinsing.

Here it is..I love it!

In natural light.

I was nervous about being able to recreate things this morning..I did it!

If you're thinking of cutting your hair, do it! It feels awesome!

McFatty Monday..1.2 pound loss

2011-05-23T06:02:00.001-06:00

I lost weight this week but I can't say that it was from me getting back on track. I was ok with eating during the day last week but I snacked a lot in the evenings (I discovered nutella for the first time).

I didn't work out at all! Yikes..and the weather hasn't been as hot so I can't use that as an excuse.

I ate bad this weekend and had a few margaritas. I'm just glad I didn't gain weight.

Current weight: 186.8
Weight lost this week: 1.2 pounds
Total weight lost so far: 9 pounds

Here's a picture from girls night on Friday.

Locomotion

2011-05-22T07:15:00.001-06:00

We planned to go to the pool yesterday but the we woke up to nasty wet weather. We knew we wanted to get out of the house and take Caroline to do something fun so we decided to check out Locomotion. I had heard good things about it and I knew they had other things to play with besides jumpy houses.

They have a ball pit for ages 3 and under and Caroline loved it.

YouTube Video

They also have a dress up area and a "mini-town" with a grocery store, vet's office, kitchen, and auto shop.

She even got on some of the jumpy thing and loved them (which is rare).

We will definitely be going back.

I forgot my real camera so you have to settle for iPhone pics today.

We're planning on swimming somewhere today (weather permitting).

McFatty Monday..1lb GAIN

2011-05-16T05:08:00.001-06:00

Yikes. I'm really back tracking huh!? This week was weird for me weight wise. On Monday I was 187 and I lost weight every day even though I was snacking more than I should and I didn't exercise AT ALL. By Friday I was down to 182.4! It was totally messing with my head. I need to be punished for not being on track so that I'll snap out of my bad habits.

Well, that definitely happened because I gained 5.6 pounds in two days! I know some of it is water retention but that's not an excuse..I ate bad this weekend...cake, chips, a burger, breakfast tacos, donuts, margaritas, brownies, etc. I think it's safe to say that I am off the wagon and out of control.

I'm getting back on track today. I must walk this week! I hope I can report a loss next Monday because this is getting embarrassing!

Current weight: 188
Weight GAINED this week: 1 pound
Total weight lost so far: 7.8 pounds

Weekend at Lake Dunlap..

2011-05-15T15:39:00.001-06:00

My cousin graduated from Texas State on Saturday and some family and friends rented some cabins on Lake Dunlap. I had never heard of it, but it’s just east of New Braunfels. It was a nice, relaxing getaway and the drive home was short.

It wasn’t as hot this weekend as it has been lately so only a few people got in the water. The weather was perfect for hanging out by the water.

We brought the Cozy Coupe for entertainment. Caroline loved being able to run free..and boy did she..she didn’t stay still for very long all weekend.

Ready for the graduation on Saturday.

Wondering what the kayak’s were.

Trying on Aunt Natalie’s shades.

She got them stuck in her hair.

Mario was sinking and didn’t realize it. Luckily he made it to shore and didn’t completely sink.

We fed a duck…

and watched Uncle Chris fish.

We played catch…

and tried on cousin Trey’s huge shoes.

She had fun climbing on the pile of linens this morning.

She helped Baca (grandpa) drive.

We had a fun weekend and I’m looking forward to a quick trip to Corpus in June and a week at the beach house in August.

Kadence’s Birthday Party..

2011-05-15T15:16:00.001-06:00

Caroline’s BFF turned two this past week and she couldn’t have a big birthday party because her parents had plans every weekend this month. They decided to celebrate on a week night at Peter Piper Pizza in San Antonio and invited us to join them. We rushed to San Antonio as soon as we picked Caroline up from daycare.

We had a blast. Caroline thought the party was for her.

They had a mini carousel (I really should start keeping a list of all the carousels she has ridden).

They also had a mini train.

Ready for cake and singing..Caroline thought everyone was singing to her.

She loved the fondant..haha.

Kadence was a good sport and let Caroline help her open presents.

McFatty Monday...0.2 lb GAIN!

2011-05-09T06:02:00.001-06:00

Yikes! Last week was obviously not the kick in the but I needed to get back on track. I did okay during the week but I was completely off the wagon all weekend!

By Friday I had lost 4 lbs from Monday, then we went out and I had a few margaritas. On Saturday and Sunday I ate a good part of a cookie cake, a cupcake, probably 1/3 of a box of Nilla Wafers, pancakes, etc.

I only walked twice last week. Blah, it's a new week and it's time to get back on track. It sucks watching my hard work slip away.

Current weight: 187
Weight GAINED this week: .2 pounds
Weight lost so far: 8.8 pounds

Here's a picture from Friday night.

Mother’s Day!

2011-05-08T19:50:00.001-06:00

I had a great Mother’s Day weekend this year. On Friday night my sister watched Caroline and we got to go out with some friends. We went to a concert at the River Road Ice House and it was so much fun! It’s nice to get out (and have a drink) every once in a while!

Yesterday and today we went to Landa Pool. We love that place! We went several times last year and it’s even more fun now that Caroline is older. They have a zero depth pool that is perfect for little ones and they also have a huge, spring fed pool with a separate kids area and kids slide. We had a blast both days. You can pack a cooler and chairs and have a picnic.

Here’s Caroline in her Cinco de Mayo outfit from daycare.

This is what I woke up to this morning. She made a special Mother’s Day mess.

Mario made me breakfast.

And I got gifts!

We posed for a picture.

Then we headed to the pool.

We took a snack break.

We stopped at the playground on the way to the spring fed pool.

I hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

McFatty Monday..3.2 lb GAIN

2011-05-02T05:41:00.001-06:00

Yikes, my eating habits have totally caught up with me! I deserve this..and it's the kick in the butt I need to get back on track.

I walked 5 times last week but didn't track any calories. I even stopped at Starbucks on the way to work a few times. I'm back on track..it's a new day, new week, and new month.

Current weight: 186.8
Weight GAINED this week: 3.2 pounds
Weight lost so far: 9 pounds