Clothing Update

I am finding that some of my clothes are getting a little too baggy and I think it is time to retire them (ie pass them along). I am able to wear a 1x shirt comfortably now. I don’t think it is going to take me long before I will need to buy some new shirts and jeans. Which brings me to my jeans…that are WAY too big now, I wore them two weekends ago and had to wear a belt that I notched a new hole in. Last week I wore a pair of pants to work and someone told me that they were too big and I should donate them in the clothing drive box on my way home. To which I wore them home, washed them, and brought them back to work and donated them :)

Over the weekend I tried on a shirt that J bought for me in high school and it actually fits, though I could loss about another 5 pounds and it would fit great! WHen I showed J that I could fit into it, he said I had to wait to wear it for a special occasion, like going on a date.

So I am going to be heading to Goodwill here soon to pick out some temporary clothes, unless someone has some to donate to me.

Six weeks and doing great!

I am officially 6 weeks post op and I fell good beyond being tired. I have developed a milk intolerance and was not getting the protein from all the milk and whey based proteins that I was consuming, which is making me tired. Last week, I went and seen my dietician and surgeon. I am down 35 pounds, lost 7 inches from my waist, my blood sugar is normal, and so is my blood pressure. Yippee!

My surgeon opened a lot more food options to me, since I will not be getting my protein from milk. I am able to have any type of fish, shell fish, lean hamburger, turkey, chicken, lean pork, turkey bacon, peanut butter and that is just the proteins. She also is allowing me to have salads, any green veggie, apples, berries, pear, bananas, grapefruit (but light on this), and cream cheese (light). She just asked for me to stay away from starch veggies, pasta, cereal, and rice till I am six months out. I am still on 2 oz per meal, but will move to 3 oz over the next couple of weeks. I have enjoyed a salad for lunch the past two days (ie the same salad and have probably another day to eat on it). I had ground hamburger with tomatoes and green beans last night for dinner (my adapted version gulosh).

Knowing that I can have more food options has set off some cravings. One craving I have had is for chicken wings. I am not able to handle regularly cooked (baked or grilled) chicken, but I can handle wings. I am not sure if it is because of the sauce or what, but it is working for me. I have tried meatloaf and pork chops, but it did not work to well. So I am trying things and I will keep tally of what is working.

Traveling in cars with boys...

The boys and I went to Louisville with my mom on Sunday to visit an aunt and cousins before they moved to Florida. It was great seeing them.
We left for Louisville with two semi-happy boys who got to watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (twice) on the way down.
We had a great time just talking with them and the kids paired up with my cousins 2 older kids, leaving poor little A out for just being too young… Once my aunt had arrived home from church and we went through some old family photos that my grandfather and uncle had.
Then we decided to head to Cracker Barrel (Bear’s favorite) for lunch. Bear was not happy about leaving his new found cousins, until he realized that they were in front of us. Once parked, he responded “Those are my cousins and we are eating cracker barrel.” It was so cute how attached he had become to my cousins oldest. The boys did great through lunch, both ate most of their food and Bubba tried helping mamu with her salad too.
After we had eaten, Bear went to get a tractor ( a tradition of his) and brought one back for big A to play with too. The kids sat and played for another 30 mins before the restless-ness started and it was time to go. We went outside and did a couple of photos before we loaded everyone in the cars. Bear became very upset when my cousin put him in the car and asked if we were going back to his house. I told him no that we were going home. So bear turned to my cousin and asked to go with him. Sad thing is, I think Bear would have no problems with leaving with him. So to say that he cried for a while was an understatement, well it stopped once we were crossing the bridge to Indiana.
Once we were settled in and on our way, the noise level lowered to a soft snore most of the way home.

Plain Paradise A Daughters of Promise Novel Review

By Beth Wiseman

This was a very quick read for me (3 days actually). I love reading Amish fiction and always dream about what life would be like growing up and living in an Amish community. Plain Paradise is a story about a mother from the “Englisher” world who has a terminal tumor wanting to get to know the daughter that she was forced to give up at birth to an Amish couple. After returning, she finds her daughter happy and loved by the Amish parents who raised her. We watch as both families struggle with her return and her illness as God becomes present in the situation.

Throughout the book, you slowly get to know the characters though most are vague beyond the main characters. I never felt I really rooted for someone or that I leaned in a certain direction, as I usually do with other books. I had a hard time relating to any of the story line.

The start of the book was slow due to outlining everything that was happening and foundation for what would happen. The story line was very predictable and wrapped up to way quickly. Though this was a good book, it felt that you were entering a middle part of a series or a book that was thrown together quickly.

I would recommend it to someone who loves reading Amish fiction or who wanted a quick read. To pick up your copy, visit the Thomas Nelson Website: http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1595548238&title=A_Daughters_of_the_Promise_Novel:_Plain_Paradise

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Easter and a birthday

Wow, what is more fun than hyping your kids up on Easter candy??? Adding a birthday cake to the mix!

Saturday, the boys and I met J after work at Toys-R-Us to let Bubba pick out his birthday presents. Bear had a little bit of a hard time, since he did not get anything. Bubba picked out a toy story trike and a tool belt. We got the boys the movie Cloudy with Meatballs and us Where the Wild Things Are. So I spent most of the evening putting together the trike while they watched the final four games. Yeah, Butler!

Easter was great! We woke up pretty early (by our clan’s standards) at 8 am to Bear banging on his bedroom door and yelling for us. To which Dad went to see what he wanted and when asked “What are you doing up?”…”I want to go downstairs and see the Easter bunny.” To which J replied “Well, I don’t think that mommy is ready to get up yet. Do you want to watch tv for a little while?” This was good for about 30 minutes. We got up and went down stairs for the boys to discover that the easter bunny did come. The boys each received a basket from the easter bunny and Mommy’s Ma-mu. They took most items out of them and of course candy was priority, along with a fishing pole. While the boys played with things and ate more candy, I made sunshine yellow pancakes and sausage for breakfast. Once breakfast was over, everyone headed upstairs to get ready for church. Then off we went.

Service was GREAT! He has risen. The worship and the message were wonderful. Daddy’s Ma-mu, Papa Shu, and Uncle Rob came as well. The service was about Luke 24 and which person are you when it comes to God. A really fascinating look at Luke 24, if you are interested in listening to the message you can find it on their website http://www.indyvineyard.org/. The boys had a fun in Sunday school and when we asked Bear about what he learned, he told us that Jesus died on the cross and they took him by ambulance to the hospital and made him all better.

After service, we headed home to begin dinner. The boys watched Cloudy with Meatballs and showed off their new loot to Ma-mu before everyone else arrived. It did not take too long before dinner was ready and everyone was eating. After eating, Bubba opened his present from Ma-mu and Papa Shu, a trampoline that has music. While Ma-mu put it together, Bubba went down for a nap. Once he got up, it was an all go on the trampoline and it did not take him long to figure it out. Later he came to me and said “I jump, I jump”. What a smart little cookie.

We had a little easter egg hunt in the front yard with candy filled eggs and cute little tonka trucks. We played with sidewalk chalk, before sending the boys with Ma-mu and daddy to the park.

Once they were back it was time for everyone to go home. It was fun, loud, and tiring; but I would not trade it for the world.