Still alive and kickin ~

So I have ignored the blog a little lately - I MUST get better at this.  It holds me much more accountable in my weight loss journey as well as my kiddos are growing up right before my eyes!
I am going to do a quick run down / outline / scrabbled thoughts of what we have been up to lately.
Last week I started my next eight week session of my boot camp fitness class.  I go on Wednesday and Friday mornings at 6:00am.  I am kicking myself in the butt for not signing up for the Monday morning 5:00am class, because while I don't mind going to the gym I really enjoy these classes.  They are HARD brutal but in an amazing way. I can really feel myself getting stronger both physically and more than that mentally.  It really is a super feeling.  I have lost 13 pounds give or take a few since January, I am trying to focus on how I feel not as much what the scale says.  While its hard, I know it is what really counts. I bought a size smaller Easter dress for this year knowing I would need to work hard to make it fit, and guess what.... I wore it to work on Monday.  Couldn't hold off a couple of more weeks.  It fit NOW :-) Very rewarding!!  So enough about me lets get to the kiddos.

T*Y*N*E ~ two words / KINDERGARTEN SCREENING!!  We went last week for her screening.  I can't believe that we are preparing for school.  She is so excited - It just really has snuck up on me.  I can vividly remember preparing for pre-school and taking her pacifier away now kindergarten is HERE!  She did very well on her screening.  The screening took about 30 minutes or so.  While she did her screening, I filled out the paper work.  Teacher request forms, bus information, summer school stuff.  We put in our teacher request.  This is so hard, because all students learn different and I got recommendations from other moms, but while no two students are alike I made a request based on gut feelings.  We hope Tyne gets our pick.  Her screening went well after she was thru the teacher came out and went thru her results.  She scored at average or above average in all tests.  (Yeah for super smart kiddos)  However one of her above average scores was on her logic and reasoning abilities.  I could have told them that.  Tyners clearly thinks thru her decisions and why she is making those decisions.  Which is a good thing, but don't let her fool you - she can reason you in the ground when it comes to cleaning and doing other things.  T-Ball will be starting soon and this could prove to be a challenge for both her and her daddy.  Todd is going to be the head coach with the assistance of a few other dads.  Todd is just a little lot competitive.  He doesn't really agree with this not keeping score business.  Todd's philosophy is you show me a good loser and I will show you someone that has never won before.... So we have some work and it will all be fine, just some learning for all! Tyne is getting taller and is still super duper skinny.  And her poor feet are big, or  maybe they look so big because her legs are so skinny ~ but anyway we did buy 3T shorts for this summer only because 2T are too short and I feel that at this age we need to be more aware of this issue.  But there are still several pants capris that she is sporting that are 18-24 months.  She is full of spunk and loves loves learning right now.  We couldn't be more proud of her and all she has accomplished.  We anxiously await her dance recital in June and a summer of fun activities before kindergarten starts.

T-Bone (aka Truman) - our little fella turned 9 months on the 22nd of March.  He is just so full of life and energy.  He has not quite figured out how to crawl, like hands and knees crawl.  He still gets where he needs to go (quick, fast and in a hurry)but we just have to make sure he has a shirt on or his belly gets carpet burn!  He is super curious of his surroundings and is keeping my on my toes with keeping the floor cleaned.  Anything found on the floor goes straight to his mouth.  (Tyne was NOT like this)  Please don't tell our pediatrician but with his two teeth he will pretty much eat anything you give him.  He loves meat loaf and mashed potatoes.  He can eat a whole pancake without blinking an eye and continues to amaze us how pureed baby food doesn't stick to his ribs very long.  While at one point we were nervous that weaning him off his bottle would pose a much greater challenge than Tyne - with all the new tastes we have to work to make sure he is getting an adequate amount of formula on a daily basis.  His progress with the sippy cup is coming along nicely ~ and his spitting of the water back out is just as lovely :-) Ha!  He is mastering the skill of waving hi and bye and it really is super cute!  He will try so hard to imitate saying bye bye.  While I thought he would be my super cute chunky baby as he gets bigger and moves around more he just seems to be thinning out :-(  Except for his feet.  The kid has baked potato shaped feet with little nubs on the end. He still has a head full of hair and cute squeezable cheeks.  It won't be long until the big first birthday and don't think that I am not already putting plans in place, because I am!  That's my OCD coming out :-)

My better half is staying super busy mowing and working out at the farm.  I so hope one day (SOON) we are able to live out there.  He spends so much time that it will be so much more convenient and I am so ready for my kids to be able to enjoy the outdoors and have more space to explore ~
We are so excited for the summer and can't wait to take our "new to us" boat out that we bought back in January. 
Wheewwwww what an update ~ if you are reading well thanks, I am sorry that it is so long...well no I am not.  This is my only way to keep track of my kids since I am not a scrapbooker. 
I am promising to myself to keep up a little better from this point forward!

Until later,
Nici

Where does the time go?

If you have kids the phrase "they grow up so fast" is repeated approximately 3,582 times in the first year of their little lives.  And honestly I get it ~ they do grow up fast and as I get older time does seem to speed up, but let's face it folks there are 24 hours in every day, 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute.  EVERY DAY..... So with that being said, time is flying!!!  My baby boy is 8 months old today!!! His personality is changing all of the time.  He has become a little emotional ~ if he is playing on the floor and you walk by without picking him up or give him a new toy he has a total melt down.  I admit I have snickered a time or TEN!  He gets so worked up when he isn't center of attention (oh Lord help us!) He tries to crawl, but is just not getting it.  He prefers to roll to where ever he needs to go :-)  I was so happy that I finally had a baby that was a good eater and loved his bottle (unlike his sister) but he seems to be following in her footsteps as now that he eats off of a spoon, he is quickly loosing interest in the bottle.  (Great for weaning, not so great for keeping him on formula until the age of 1) He is talking up a storm, babbling away and is starting to match sounds with items - he knows that baabaa is his bottle and momma/dadda.  He has also realized that clapping your hands produces a sound and is fascinated with such.  A friend of mine has a blog you can find it here and she would give her kids birth story on their birthdays.  I thought about doing that today, but I will wait till T2 is one.  I am going to steal the idea (hope she is okay with it) because all to often we might forget the little details of that glorious day when our kiddos come into this world and those are memories that I don't want to forget.  But for the time being, happy 8 months to the little boy that has completed our family.  God knew the perfect timing for him to join us and we could not be happier.  He has brought so much joy into our lives and for that we could not be more grateful.
Here is a picture of our baby boy at 9 days old thanks to my friend Christy at ChristyBPhotography!

Nici

Wordless Wednesday ~ My loves

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A little on the lighter side

Well while the title would indicate this is gonna be another post about weight loss it is soooo far from that.  So far in my blogging life, my post have been deep.  So today I am going to try my hand at posting a picture.  This past weekend, we went to Columbia for a conference for Missouri Fairs and Festivals.  Attending the conference every year is Leroy Van Dyke.  He is a famous (and I will use that lightly - because unless you are a huge fan of OLD country music or are an auctioneer you probably have never heard of him) Missourian.  He is a singer/songwriter and auctioneer.  Anyway, my father in law is a HUGE fan of him.  Enough that he performed at the Cass County Fair several years ago and well lets just say it wasn't a very young crowd. (hehee)  So my in laws insist that each one of my kids have their pictures with him..... I can't find the digital image of T1. Her first Fairs & Festivals event she was 4 months old. But here is our T2 ~ he is 7 months old!

So not to leave T1 out since it is not her fault I can't find her picture with Leroy Van Dyke, here she is with the other "Tyne".  Tyne Morgan was the Missouri State Fair Queen in 2006 - she attended the Fairs and Festivals Conference in 2007 and we had the opportunity to have the two Tyne's photographed together. 

T1 obviously has taken better pictures (but in her defense we found out the next day she had her very first ear infection).  However Tyne Morgan is as beautiful as ever.  Miss Tyne was a friend of my brothers that he met thru FFA (I might add FFA creates many life long friendships-encourage your kids to get involved in it in high school!).  When we found out we were having a girl and knew that our baby's name would have the initials TCW I instantly thought of Miss Tyne.  We couldn't have picked a better name.  It is so fitting for our T1 and I can only hope that she grows up to be just as spectacular as her counterpart she was named after!!  I might add that I am friends with Miss Tyne on Facebook and she just got a once in a lifetime job ~ so check her out as the anchor on AgDay (its a National TV show)

Now that it appears I have successfully uploaded and posted pictures ~ I promise to share more of the kiddos and be a little more light hearted on occasion!

Happy Friday!
Nici

Not doing this alone

I did read thru my post from just the other day before I published it ~ however after reading it again and stewing on it for most of the evening I felt a little disheartened with what I wrote.  This blog is for me - it is for me to record my feelings to get me thru this little journey called life.  It's for me to figure out how to post some pictures of my kiddos as I watch them grow up so fast right in front of my eyes.  I have never been a journal keeper or never had a diary under lock and key ~ But as I get older I don't want to forget certain things. 
I just felt my post gave off a persona of some self help that I can do this on my own.  And that is so far from the fact.  I find my self praying (rambling) to God more now than probably ever.  Several years ago when we were going thru some struggles with adding to our family I found a verse that helped me get thru some of those days that were sooooo hard.  And while each day brings trials and tribulations big and small this verse seems to fit me ~

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.  Proverbs 3:5,6

When we wanted a baby so bad and everyone around seemed to be getting pregnant I read this verse probably 40 times a day.  I had to realize that God didn't intend for me to always understand his reasoning but I had to learn to trust that I had very little control over this situation. (And if you know anything about me, I am kinda a little controlish, a little OCD and very much a leader.)  God did know what was perfect for our family and it was to bring our little Truman into our lives.  We were so easily and quickly blessed with Tyne (on the schedule I had planned) and yet Truman came on God's schedule and it couldn't have been more perfect. 

Probably about a year ago we did a bible study at church during Sunday School on different religions and their beliefs.  We did touch on these self help books and finding all your answers thru inner peace.  And while I feel that I can find strength inside to make it thru small tasks or to finish the last 30 seconds of a run or to avoid a cupcake temptation, most of my weaknesses I leave in prayer.  I KNOW that I can not even come close to battling life's challenges with out my Lord and Savior ~ I am not a "good" pray-er. But I am an avid one, I sometimes wonder if I give God a good chuckle sometimes with my ramblings.  As I am sure some of you six or seven that read this will get a chuckle or two of my crazy ramblings.
Remember to Pray often,
Nici

I am worth it!

So tomorrow marks the half way point of this 5:00am workout class I have been taking. We are doing a fit test to see how we have progressed since the first morning. I have only one way to go and that is hellacious improvement since I spent most of the first morning in the bathroom puking my guts out. :-) It took me that first morning to realize I have to eat something before a workout and it must involve just the smallest amount of sugar to keep me from passing out. I am excited for tomorrow because while I was severely angry with the scales last week, I know that I am feeling better. Just like today I was crossing the street at the post office and there was a car that was letting me cross.... PE (pre-exercise) Nici would have walked briskly across the street out of their way. Today I picked up the pace and jogged. And didn't feel out of breath. I am constantly in the back of my mind remembering to keep my posture up and keep my stomach pulled in. I do think I am seeing some changes ~ but it could be me just a little on the crazy side or the stupid migraine I have been fighting.
Which brings me to some of what I think this post was supposed to be about. I went to my doctor today. While I have two great medical professional women in my life one being my OBGYN (which one day she will get a post all to herself, because she is absolutley AMAZING)the other is my family doctor. I have had three migraines since last Wednesday ~ this morning being the worst. I have never had problems with them in the past and since I just started back in the pill after so many years of not being on it, it does disturb me. But what makes my family doctor so awesome is she remembers things of my medical past even though I haven't been in her office in quite sometime. She truly cares about my health and well being. A couple of years ago after my third miscarriage I found out that I have an inherited a homozygous gene called MTHFR A1289C. While my homocysteine levels were normal it is known as a "blood clotting" genetic defect. While going thru all of this genetic testing my visits and correspondence was mainly with my OB and the specialist we were seeing. I did keep my family doctor up to date with the happenings as well. But when I went in there today she remembered everything. It amazes me that this day in age you can still find someone that cares about their patients like she does. So to get to the point ~ this journey I am on is not a diet. There is no end point where you get to a point and then can go back to a slice of Casey's pizza for breakfast every morning and expect to stay healthy. Now did I say I would never again eat a slice of Casey's breakfast pizza? No, it's all about making better decisions for life. And that's what I am doing. I am NOT dieting and this is NOT a New Year's resolution. This is a hello wake up stupid you are obese and are not living life to the fullest in the healthiest way you can.
So in the mean time I hope that these migraines go away as fast as they appeared, and if not she tells me I have to have my cat scanned. So if you are thinking about going on a diet, screw the diet eat the piece of pizza you are wanting until you are ready to make a change in your life and make the decision that you are worth changing you life style for the better because I have. My journey is way more than just the food I eat. Part of it is this blog and the accountability to myself in all that I do. And you know why----because I deserve it!!
Until next time,
Nici

Well Crap...

So this is my first blog post ~ I really thought my first post as a blogger would be all happy and joyful and thankful for all that God has blessed me with.  And don't get me wrong he has blessed me more than words can ever explain.  But my first post isn't as "happy" and "fruity" as I had in my mind it would be.  So here it goes.....
I turned 30 last year.  Approximately 3 months after having my second baby.  I had big plans for 2011.... it was my 30th birthday and my husband and I's 10 year wedding anniversary.  But God had bigger plans than any measly vacation I had hoped to take to celebrate the momentous year.  We had been trying to add to our family since 2009 and finally it happened in 2011.  That will be for another post ~ the hard road we incurred to get our little Truman here.  The ups, downs, surgeries, blood (I know TMI) and sweat (again TMI).  So when my birthday and our anniversary rolled around (which they are only a couple of weeks apart) I had just been back to work for about a month, no vacation time left, and definitely no money saved back to do so.  So we went to Branson for a weekend, just the two of us.  It was nice, but no tropical island.  Which leads me to the brunt of this post ~ why in the hell would I have wanted to go to a tropical island when the sight of me in a swim suit scares the shit out of me!  So now I am doing something about it- I am 30, I have 2 beautiful kids that I live my life for, a husband that drives me crazy but I love him more and more each day.  But I am going to start living some life for me!  We have a new gym in town, I joined and not only did I join but I am actually GOING.  On a daily basis.  Then I paid money for this fitness class.  It started the second week in January and is on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 5am to 5:45am.  (I am not a morning person AT ALL, so this is huge for me.) And I have been eating healthy.  Not a diet- this is for life now.  Just eating healthy.  Better food choices, smaller portions and the occasional cheat to curb some of those cravings.  I did eat pizza for dinner last night, but it was a small and my daughter and I shared it and came home with 4 left over slices.  Oh and I gave up pop.  Not caffeine, I still drink tea and an occasional coffee, but I gave up all of that nasty high fructose corn syrup stuff.  So the first week of January, just giving up the pop and eating a little healthier, I lost 6.6 pounds.  I thought I was hot stuff.  Now that I am actually exercising alot I have gained 4.4 of it back.  That's right you heard me - I gained 4.4 pounds last week.  So that is how my blog is starting a few seconds of a big fat pity party and then I will be done.  I am NOT giving up, I WILL keep moving forward to reach my goals, I know it will NOT be EASY.  But I am more than ready to see some progress.
Thanks for reading, I really am excited to share our day to day happenings.  The good and the bad with whoever decides to read this and I promise it will get much more positive and but I am not going to hide the fact that there will be some negative.  It's okay though, you don't have to agree or like everything I write.  I understand, but I will do it anyway, because this is my blog and if you have words to say start your own :-)
Until we meet again~
Nici