My Little Girlie!

Lauren's new hair cut!

Lately, I have been noticiing that Lauren is starting to develop her own little personality.  Don't get me wrong, she's always had personality, but now she's starting to talk and act more mature and it's cracking all of us up!  I am here at work on my lunch break, and the thought of her made me smile.  Here are some of the funny things she is up to; hopefully they will make you smile, too!

• She has started wanting to do more "mom" things.  She wants to pretend she's driving our car, she has to have her own grocery cart at the store, and she pretends to talk on her princess cell phone.  We play what she calls "hon" (I call her "honey," so when she plays, she  calls all of the children "honey" or "hon" for short) which is where we role play that she is the mom, and I am "the hon."  We also play "hons," which is where we play with a family of little doll house statues.  She likes to pretend that she is the mom all of the time, and if I dare slip out of character, I am quickly reminded that she is the mom, and I am the hon.  The problem arises when I need to parent her on something and she says, "No, I'm the mom, you're the hon."  It's still cute, though.

• She is starting to get very bossy (I have no idea where she gets it from ;) ) with Ben.  If I tell him to do something, she will reiterate with, "Yeah, Ben!  Mommy said stop!!!"  Then she will taddle on him, "Mommy, he is not listening to you."  This, of course, infuriates Ben who yells, "Lauren, stop talking!!!"  If he uses poor manners, she corrects him.  If he eats all of his food, she will tell him how "good he ate."  It cracks me up! 

• Her new favorite saying is, "It's not a big deal!"  If I get mad and yell, I will hear, "Mommy, it's not a big deal" coming from wherever she is in the house.  When you look at her, she is shrugging her shoulders and putting her hands up in the air.  If you try to retort, she will shake her head and say, "No, it's not a big deal." 

• I got mad at her for spilling water all over the bathroom the other night, and I said, "No more water!"  After hearing that "it wasn't a big deal," she stomped her foot, squinched up her face in the mirror and said, "Mommy! I am not happy right now!" in this nasty little voice.  If she gets mad, she will tell you.  If I am mad, she will ask, "Are you not happy right now?"  

• She is very affectionate, very quick to say how much she loves us almost every day.  Last night at dinner, she said (out of the blue), "Do you know why I love you, Daddy?  'Cause you were nice to me yesterday ("yesterday" refers to any day that isn't today) ." She told me on the way to work this morning that she loves me because I love her.  She loves to give hugs and kisses, and loves to play "massive tickle fest" with Daddy & Ben.

• She looks so forward to our "Mommy/Lauren days" on Fridays.  Mark goes to work, Ben goes to school, and it's just us girls for the day.  Sometimes we clean, sometimes we go to the grocery, sometimes we watch TV and play hons all day, but no matter what, I always have fun!

• She is starting to do impressions of people on TV and people she knows.  It's hysterical!

• She sings along to the radio and loves pop music.  Her favorite song is Teenage Dream by Katie Perry.  She asked me at dinner the other night, "Mommy, what do you think about that song..." and started to sing it.  Of course, she doesn't understand all of the words, so she just makes up nonsense words in their place.  I love it!

99% of the time, Lauren is a joy to be around.  She is very easy to discipline at this point; all I have to do is raise my voice and she will usually stop whatever it is that she is doing.  Most of the time, just threatening to make her sit in time out is all that is required.  I figure I should relish these times now, 'cause I know that the teen years won't be so kind!

God had blessed me so much through my children; I love them both for exactly who they are.  I can't imagine my life without them!

Had Enough!

As I mentioned in my last post, I have really been struggling on my weight loss journey. I was reading over my weight loss entry from November, and I had this sinking feeling as I read it:  Who was that?  I feel so far away from that person right now; I was strong, full of energy, full of optimism.  For the first time in a long time I have taken a long, hard look at who I've become since the end of the weight loss challenge-now that the only grand prize is me getting to goal weight.


I am mentally preparing to get back on track next week and, since this is basically my diary, I thought I would write an honest question & answer segment for myself.  My answers might sound a lot like what you would answer if you asked yourself the same questions.  My hope is that I might encourage someone else out there who reads my blog and is struggling with weight loss to really think about what you are doing to yourself.  


WHAT DO I LIKE SO MUCH ABOUT NOT EXERCISING & EATING UNHEALTHY?

• Not having to plan ahead
• Eating food that tastes good great
• Watching TV all night long
• Getting my way

WHAT DO I HATE ABOUT NOT EXERCISING & EATING UNHEALTHY?

• LOOKING LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!

• Stomach aches/feeling sick
• The way people look at me when I'm eating food they know I shouldn't be eating
• The way I talk to myself/lie to myself/feel helpless
• My clothes getting tighter
• Hiding from all cameras (see above!)
• Feeling lazy
• Feeling guilty 

WHAT DO I MISS ABOUT EXERCISING & EATING HEALTHY?

• ENERGY!
• Confidence
• Time by myself/time to think
• Feeling strong/powerful
• Fitting into smaller sizes-quickly
• Eating food that makes me feel good after I eat it, instead of tired
• Being in control 
• Getting FULL
• Seeing myself in pictures/on video and not cringing
• Feeling muscle where there once was none
• Being a good example to others, especially Ben
• Compliments/people noticing my hard work
• Looking forward with enthusiasm
• Saving money on eating in restaurants
• Not finishing food off the kids' plates
• Jogging/riding my bike outside

It's no surprise that the list of what I enjoy about being healthy outweighs the list of what I enjoy about being unhealthy by A LOT.  Monday will be a new day!  I will get back to the wife and mother I was meant to be, back to the life I want to live.  If you are struggling also, join me!  We can do this together. 

Boring...

Yeah, I know.  It's as if I dropped off the face of the earth.  Honestly, there is just nothing going on right now!  The weather stinks, the kids are healthy, all else is pretty good.  Here are some updates:

1. My weight loss has come to a screeching halt.  I am maintaining about 5lbs heavier than I was at the end of my weight loss challenge.  Apparently, this is what a "plateau" is (yes, I always thought this was a load of crap, until now).  I geared up and got back on track on February 1st-eating like a saint and exercising hard 6 days/week and GAINED 2lbs.  I was livid!  My solution was to eat like a pig and stop exercising altogether-that would show........................me!!!!   Now that I have sabotaged my self-esteem and confidence, I am ready to get back on the wagon.  As frustrated as I am, I have to "keep on keeping on."
2. Mark will be on the Fox 19 Morning Show with Sheila Gray on Monday, March 21st @ 8:00am for an interview about filming The Ides of March.  He is very excited and is hoping to have a preview of his movie Recession Proof to show during the interview.  Hopefully all goes well!
3. Mooky is doing well.  He takes a couple of medications every day and eats a special diet.  His blood work was much improved the last time I checked it!  

Well, we have some fun stuff planned for this weekend so maybe I will have more to write about soon!