I'm a Toys R Us Kid!

I realized I was a grown up when I got pregnant with my son and no one told me I was too young. I was 25. When I was a kid I always said that I wanted to have my first child at 25 because I thought that was really old. But when I unexpectedly got pregnant I instantly thought "I'm too young for this". Then I realized I was the exact "really old" age I wanted to be when I was a kid.



Although having my son made me realize I really was an adult, it hasn't made me feel old. On the contrary I feel younger, I get to do all sorts of kid stuff again. I can finger paint, jump in puddles, go to story time, read "Where the Wild Things Are" over and over, and watch Disney Channel. Because of my son I now know the meaning of being a "Toys R Us Kid". I get to hang out in the toy aisle, see "children's movies", and go to to Chuck E. Cheese's without looking like a crazy person. I get to experience things through his eyes and remember how amazing the simple things are.



I now know I am an adult, but I am a parent and that means I get to have a second childhood and experience the world all over again through my son.

"Just Another Manic Monday"

And this week I am participating in Writer's Workshop and the prompt I chose is: Could a routine become interesting through words?  Write about a person (perhaps you) caught up in a daily routine.  Establish a rhythm with the story’s words that impersonates the rhythm of the routine.




6 AM       is                  that              the              alarm                                                  hit.the.snooze                                   man that went by fast                                                          UGH       pull    myself        out                       of                      bed                            run to the bathroom, I can't see, where's my glasses, GET UP EDDIE, "Mommy can I watch a show" I say yes but I wanna say NO! Find the remote change the TV, you can only watch Disney.       Heres your clothes put on your shoes, getting in the shower. Do you hear what I'm telling you? Get in the shower the water is nice, I could stay in here the rest of my life.  Wash my hair, my face and limbs. Did I put conditioner in? Water off, towel on.  Find my clothes, brush out my hair.  Eddie are you dressed, of course not I could have guessed. The TV is going off if you don't put on your shoes and socks.  Blow dry my hair, I don't wanna go anywhere! Straighten hair, brush and comb, gotta put some makeup on.  Eddie come and brush your teeth, brush as long as the light is flashing. Rinse it off get your backpack, no I'm not recording that. Where's your jacket? Put it on. Where the heck did I leave my phone? Purse, phone, jacket, keys. Eddie get your backpack please. TV lights everything off out the door, make sure its locked, in the car and we're OFF!

What I Put Up With....

This week I am participating in Writers Workshop over at Mama Kat's.
The prompt I chose is: Write a poem to your love for Valentine’s Day.


Whenever people find out that my husband does not buy me flowers and doesn't give me gifts, I always get the same response, "How do you put up with that?!" Here is my answer:


I put up with a man that gets up and goes to work everyday without fail and without complaining.
I put up with a man who comes home to me every night, without fail.
I put up with a man that is not out running the streets with his friends instead of taking care of his family.
I put up with a man who does not consider taking care of his own child "babysitting" when I am not there, its just parenting.
I put up with a man who does whatever he can to make me comfortable and feel better when I am sick.
I put up with a man who got up in the middle of the night with me when our son was an infant.
I put up with a man who was by my side while I battled post-partum depression.
I put up with a man who without complaint was willing to do anything his mom asked.
I put up with a man who was willing to put his life on hold to care for his mom.
I put up with a man who has been by my side sharing in the sadness and anger of our trying to conceive journey.
I put up with a man who loves my sister like she was his own, and even though she drives him crazy, he would do anything he could to for her.
I put up with a man who calls me BEAUTIFUL.
I put up with a man who grew up in a family where holidays and birthdays weren't a big deal, but still honors my family traditions even though we make a big deal out of everything.
I put up with a man who tries to give me what ever I want, no matter what time of year.
I put up with a man who loves my big crazy family.
I put up with a man who will take me to see sappy romance movies.
I put up with a man who will eat at restaurants I want to go to even if he doesn't particularly care for it.
I put up with a man who takes care of our son.
I put up with a man who grounds me when I need it, but also lets me fly away when I need to.
I put up with a man who puts me and our son first in his life.
I put up with a man who tells me he would be lost with me and our son.
I put up with a man who I can trust, and never have to wonder about.
I put up with a man who does the dishes.
I put up with a man who motivates me, inspires me, and encourages me.
I put up with a man who knows what is important.
I put up with a man that makes me laugh, and with whom I can laugh.
I put up with a man who watches Real Housewives, General Hospital and any other show I want to watch.
I put up with a man who appreciates how hard it is to be a stay at home mom.
I put up with a man I would be proud to have my son turn out like.
I put up with a man who defends me to myself.
I put up with a man who worries when he feels I'm taking on too much.
I put up with a man who reminds me that it is ok to say "NO" sometimes.
I put up with a man who appreciates everything I do for him, and tells me so.
I put up with a man who when he looks at me in that special way, makes me weak in the knees, and my stomach full of butterflies.
I put up with a man who makes me feel special everyday.
Most importantly, I put up with a man who LOVES me unconditionally, without fail, and so well that I know everyday how lucky I am.







Ok so maybe this turned out not be a poem, but I can put up with that.

Wednesday Weigh In

Welcome to the first Wednesday Weigh In!

This week's topic is introductions. Please introduce yourself, tell us what your weight loss plan is, your weight loss goal, and why you are embarking on this journey. Also if you would like you can list your starting weight, but you do not have to.

2010 Fat to Fit Club

The way it works is this; we would all blog every Wednesday about how much weight you have lost that week, what is working for you, what isn't working, tips & tricks, great recipes and other weightloss topics. I will create a blog with the week's prompt and a Mr Linky (provided I can figure out how to work it) Once you have written your blog come back paste the link to your post in the linky read the blogs of others on their weightloss journey and show them some comment love. My hope is that we can all be accountable to each other as well as ourselves. But also that we can support and encourage each other. I want this to be a safe place where we can be honest about our individual journey, and get support when we stumble or get off track.

The Guidelines:

1. ABSOLUTELY NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS WILL BE TOLERATED!

2. NO ONE has to reveal their starting or ending weight unless the WANT to

3. Honesty is the key to success so be as honest as you can

4. Remember that stumbling does not mean you have failed, just pick up where you left off and get back on track.

5. Most importantly this is to be a JUDGMENT FREE ZONE, each person is allowed to embark on their weightloss journey in what ever manner works best for them, there is no right or wrong.

6. NO ADVERTISING

Reflection and 2010 To Do List

As 2009 came to a close, and we started a new decade, I decided to reflect on all the changes that have occurred in the last ten years.

Ten years ago I was ready for the year to be over and put what was one of the worst years of my life behind me. My grandmother had passed away just 4 months before and I just wanted a new start. I spent the Y2K New Year's with the boy I thought was "The One". I thought for sure that because I started the year and decade with him, that I would finish it with him. Within in a year we were broken up, something we had done many times, but this time he had crossed my line in the sand. As a 21 yr old girl I was sure my world was upside down and I had no idea what to do and where to go. I spent the next 3 years figuring out who I was, what I wanted and where I wanted to go in life. It was some of the best times of my life. I embraced being single. Then I got a new job and in the second week of training this guy walked into the training room and I knew he was the one for me. I know it sounds cheesy, but it is true. I saw him and leaned over to my friend and said "If I ever get the chance to date that guy, I am going to marry him!" Two and half years, and a beautiful baby boy later, I did. He showed me what love is. He fills my heart in a way I never thought it could be. He is my best friend, my partner and everything I never knew I always wanted. The beginning of the decade feels much farther away than ten years should, it seems like another lifetime. I began this new decade the way I plan to begin each decade with the most amazing husband I never could have asked for, and our son. Now hopefully someday we will be blessed with another child to share our New Year's with, but even if we aren't I will be perfectly content to begin each new year, and decade the way I began this one.

Now on to the second half of my post my "To Do List". I call it that because I am not fond of the whole resolution thing, I think it is a recipe for failure. I would much rather make a list of things I want to do this year, this way just like my daily to do list, if I don't finish I don't feel bad. I can simply add it to the next To Do List. So here goes:

2010 To Do List

1. Watch all 3 Lord of the Rings movies with my hubby - he has been asking me to do this for the entire 6 years we have been together.

2. Lose weight, get in shape, be healthy

3. Organize each room in the house

4. Let go and get rid of stuff I haven't seen or used that is just taking up the limited space I have

5. Scrapbook

6. Go on dates with my husband

7. Spend one on one time with my son doing something he wants to do, no matter what it is

8. Send my hubby and son out to do stuff BY THEMSELVES, and enjoy the quiet of my house

9. Blog at least once a week

10. Journal

11. Meditate/Pray/Relax daily

12. Spend time teaching my son things he won't learn in school

13. Go to Church

14. Be wiser with our money

15. Continue school

16. Be more patient

17. Spend more time with my Nana and my hubby's Grandma

18. Spend time pursuing my artistic delights

19. Take time to hang out with friends

20. Have a dinner party

I think 20 things on my To Do List is a good start. I plan to work as diligently on this list as I do my daily list. I guess 21 would be, doing a Daily To Do List, daily.

I hope everyone has a fabulous year filled with joy, laughter, family, friends and lots of blessings.

Happy New Year!

(this post is a little late because I was sick, a part of my new year I hope not to repeat every year ;) )

Wednesday Weigh In

So, I have been complaining about my chubbiness for far too long. I am sick of it and lets be honest my chub is not helping my fibromyalgia get any better. So here I am writing a blog about it. Well not really. I know several people who have expressed the desire to lose weight in the new year. But like me need accountability. So here is my idea:

We all blog about it! Ok so it wasn't completely my idea I was inspired by someone who said they were going to blog their weightloss journey. My idea is to create a "Fat to Fit Club"

The way it would work is this; we would all blog every Wednesday about how much weight you have lost that week, what is working for you, what isn't working, tips & tricks, great recipes and other weightloss topics. I will create a blog with the week's prompt and a Mr Linky (provided I can figure out how to work it) Once you have written your blog come back paste the link to your post in the linky read the blogs of others on their weightloss journey and show them some comment love. My hope is that we can all be accountable to each other as well as ourselves. But also that we can support and encourage each other. I want this to be a safe place where we can be honest about our individual journey, and get support when we stumble or get off track.

There will be some guidelines:

1. ABSOLUTELY NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS WILL BE TOLERATED!

2. NO ONE has to reveal their starting or ending weight unless the WANT to

3. Honesty is the key to success so be as honest as you can

4. Remember that stumbling does not mean you have failed, just pick up where you left off and get back on track.

5. Most importantly this is to be a JUDGMENT FREE ZONE, each person is allowed to embark on their weightloss journey in what ever manner works best for them, there is no right or wrong.

6. NO ADVERTISING

I really hope that this takes off and we get a great group going and we meet our weightloss goals this year. Perhaps we can plan a special treat for New Year's Eve next year to celebrate our success!

My Healthcare Solution - NOW STOP YELLING!

Here is my healthcare plan:

1. Make it affordable for ALL employers to offer GOOD healthcare plans by subsidizing the cost or better regulation

2. Allow small businesses and the self-employed to buy in to a healthcare collective, giving them the opportunity to have affordable full coverage healthcare.

3. Expand coverage for children, allowing more children to be covered by medicaid/SCHIP and use it as their secondary provider

"Universal" healthcare is not a perfect solution. Even places that have it admit there are drawbacks. What we need to focus on is keeping costs down across the board. My son just had his tonsils and adenoids removed the cost for that DAY surgery over $10,000.00. That seems extremely high and excessive to me - thank God I have great insurance, but my out of pocket was still $1250 (our plan max). An older woman I spoke to in the waiting room of my Dr's office told me that in France if you get admitted to the hospital it is like $15/day no matter what you are there for. I don't know how accurate that is, but I think putting a set charge like that would help. We need to stop focusing on "government" healthcare and focus on what needs to be done to get everyone insured. If healthcare premiums were low enough that ALL employers could afford to offer GOOD plans to their employees at an affordable rate, that helps get a good majority of people covered. If small businesses and the self employed get to buy healthcare together with the power of a large corporation, that covers almost everyone else. Expand medicaid coverage for kids, allowing for children who have insurance to be covered but as their secondary insurance, lowering the financial burden on parents.

Stop all the yelling and start listening. I am not an expert or an elected official but I think if I could come up with a relatively simple solution, the big brains in Washington should be able to do the same. Stop listening to the special interests and listen to the interests of your constituents.

Lets work together - Healthcare is a UNIVERSAL need!

Thank You!