Little Alex

Some of you may have heard about this, and some of you may not have. This is a story about a little five year old boy named Alex, who actually only lives about two hours from me. Anyway, this story is sad because this poor boy had to endure the cruel judgments of his teacher AND the other children in the class. On top of that, Alex has been in the process for several months now of getting tested for, and it's presumed he has, Asperger's syndrome, which is a form of Autism. The school was the one to bring it to the attention of the parents and that's why they started testing him in the first place, which means they obviously knew he had some issues. So the story goes like this. Apparently, little Alex was put in front of his entire kindergarten class and the teacher asked EVERY SINGLE child to say why they do NOT like him. To him, he thinks this means they hate him. Very sad. Makes my heart just hurt that there are people that think this is OK. It's not. I don't care how bad someone is, that behavior is never acceptable.

After the "why we don't like Alex" session, the teacher then proceeded to hold a vote on whether little Alex should stay in the class or go. The 14-2 vote was in favor of Alex leaving the class, which included the vote of Alex's only friend in the world, whose vote was initially in favor of Alex staying, but after the teacher sternly asked the child to repeat his vote, he changed it in favor of Alex having to leave. Poor Alex thinks even his best friend hates him.

After the vote, the teacher then asked Alex how he felt. Well, gee, captain obvious, how do you think he felt?? Gosh this story really gets under my skin. And the fact that this happened so close in proximity just goes to show you some of the many reasons why I want to get out of here. To read the story, you can click here, or google it (Alex Barton) and you will find stuff all over the web.

I can't help to well up with tears when I hear this story, and when I write it as well. I think anyone with a heart and conscience would feel some emotion in regards to this story. I guess this just hits close to home for me for a couple of reasons. Back in 2-4 grades, I remember having two friends at the Catholic school I went to. For some reason, none of the kids liked me, nor did the teachers and even the principal picked on me. I remember going home and crying multiple times. I even remember being sick with Mono in the 3rd grade and I was out for almost a whole month, and I remember hearing something about the kids being glad I was out for so long. I also got stabbed in the leg with a pencil by a kid who sat in front of me for "kicking his chair." Yeah I may have kicked the chair, but stabbing someone is a crime. Nothing was done, ad even worse, when I went to tell the teacher, she told me to go sit back down. As if I was bothering her. I've never had problems with any other school like that one. From 5th grade on, I may not have been the most popular kid, but I was never ever picked on. So I have no idea what it was, maybe financial politics that started with the teachers treating me differently and then the kids following suit. Who knows. But I also did not have any conditions like Alex may have to add to the problem. I guess the other reason this hits home is that I have a daughter the same age, about to embark on her Kindergarten journey, and I can't ever imagine anyone treating her that way.

All that to say there are some really nice people in this world who want to help Alex see that he really is special. Someone is giving out her own address so that people can send cards to Alex to her, and she will then forward them onto to Alex's mother. I'm going to work with Grace this weekend on one myself. I think everyone should send Alex a card, so tell everyone you know about this. Click here for the site with the wonderfully sweet woman's address to send the cards to.

Uh Oh

For many of you that know me, you know what an "Uh Oh" is. But for those of you that might not know, let me explain. It all started almost 6 years ago when Grace was born. We gave her a pacifier and as time let on, everywhere she went, her pacifier went, too. They were inseperable. However, there were few occasions where Grace would drop her pacifier, and in turn we would say, "Uh oh," and pick it up. We did this with cups and toys and anything else that was thrown, but for some reason, Grace correlated the word Uh Oh with her pacifier, and that was what she called it. When Nate was born, we were in such a habit of calling it an Uh Oh, it felt strange to just say pacifier, so we called it that for him, too.

For Grace, we tried to get rid of her pacifier one day by just taking it away, and it was REALLY hard. We ended up giving it back to her and said we'd try again sometime soon. One day, we were out, and I don't know if we just didn't have any more pacifiers with us, or if we just didn't have any more at all (they got lost and broken), but Grace had been biting holes in them around that time. Once she bit a hole in it, she was unable to suck on them and no longer wanted that particular pacifier. Well, we were out, and she bit a hole in the only one we had there, and wanted another one. We ended up telling her that she broke it and we didn't have any and there wasn't anything we could do. It ended up being a while and she was doing well, so instead of getting her another one, we decided to try to get rid of it that day. We succeeded. From that day on, she never put another pacifier in her mouth. Well, with the exception of one day after that when she found one somewhere, and proceeded to find me and just look at me in the eyes while she sucked away- kind of with that look of, "Look at what I have in my mouth, Mom." I snatched that pacifier out of her mouth so fast!! Anyway, that was about 2 months after her 2nd birthday.

So fast forward to now, when Nate 2 years and 5 months old. I hadn't tried to get rid of his pacifiers yet, because he's been more difficult with things in the past like night feedings and coming completely off the bottle than Grace was, so I just didn't even want to hassle with it yet. However, the other night we were over Ray's parent's house having dinner, and Nate had to go several hours without his pacifier because it had gotten lost. On the drive home, over an hour past his bedtime, he did remarkably well, so I thought maybe we should try to get rid of it then. We had a good excuse for Nate-that he lost it and we couldn't find it. He also thinks that Baby Isaac has the others, since I had been prepping him in the fact that Isaac is a baby and babies need Uh Ohs and Nate is a big boy and soon we'd give Isaac all of Nate's Uh Ohs. I had a plan to take him to the post office and mail them in a box. (I'd always heard of people having their kids successfully get off of their pacifiers by giving them to other "babies" so I thought I'd try that). Well that was Monday night and here we are today and still no Uh Oh. He has slept through 2 whole nights, VERY well I might add, without them. Nap time yesterday was a major struggle, but other than that, he's done well.

So I think its safe to say we have gotten rid of Nate's Uh Oh. While I know this is a great thing, theres the little empathetic part of me that feels bad for him. Here's this thing that this little boy has had his WHOLE life, that is part of his life, and we just take it away. And he asks about it every now and then, and it just melts my heart because he asks so sweetly. Don't worry, I'm not going to give in now, we've gotten too far. But I still can't help feeling a little badly about it. Plus it also means my little guy, my baby, is growing up, and that's hard to realize sometimes. But I know that Nate will be ok, and me, too, and we don't have to worry about losing and finding Uh Ohs anymore.

I am an Aunt!!

I am SO excited, I am an Aunt! Isn't that awesome? But what's even more awesome is that Ray's brother, John and his wife, Wendi are finally parents! After 10 years of marriage, 5 of which they've been dealing with infertility, they have adopted this little boy who was just born on May 7th. This is a story that only God could have written, and it such a beautiful story at that. Here is a blog my sister-in-law, Wendi wrote telling some of the background of her relationship with the birthmom, Brianna (click here).

One other cool thing is that Isaac's due date was May 7th, which happened to be the day he was born. However, it was also Brianna's 18th birthday, and Brianna herself was adopted. So how cool is it that she was born into this life, adopted by a loving family, only 18 years later to give birth to a son and allow a loving family to adopt him.....THE VERY SAME DAY!!! God made sure that this story was really special for John and Wendi with the way He put all this together! Awesome, awesome story! Anyway, here are a few pics of my little nephew that I am just torn to pieces over that he's soooo far away from me :(

Issac finally some from the hospital- he's sooo stinkin' cute

Aunt Gabbi feeding Isaac at the hospital

Isaac leaving the hospital, getting ready to take his very first car ride!

I guess I didn't realize how hard it would be to be so far away, but Isaac just went back home today, 10 hrs away from me, and I'm already missing him like crazy. And all he does is sit there and look cute!!! I guess I'm sad that he's hardly going to know his Aunt Gabbi and he'll know tons more people way better than me because they live so close to him and I don't. Anyway, I'll be ok. I know he'll know me more when he's older. Or I'll have to move closer! :)

Prayer Request

Hi everyone. This blog is here to request your prayers for Michael. I can't really go into detail, just keep him in your prayers. If you read my previous blog that had more information, please keep that info to yourself, and pray.

Thanks.

Helping Others

Here is a story I'm sure you all may have heard by now, but I just think that its one we all need to hear over and over again. This is such a great example of the love we should extend to others in their time of need. Its a story a college senior softball player hitting her first ever home run and then tearing her ACL and is unable to run the bases. If you don't know the story, then watch and see what unfolds. It's certainly touching, and I can't help but get all teary eyed every time I watch it.

A Quiz

Got this idea from Wendi. So.....how well do you know me?

Take My Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com Can you Ace my quiz? Yes! No Let's Find Out!

Diet, Growing Up, and Yummy Treats

Well, I've been a slacker with the blogging, once again. Surprise, Surprise, lol. But just to update you, on Monday my weight was the same as last week. No loss, but no gain either, so thats good. I think this week will be the same as well, but I am hoping to do much better this week (I'd better or I will never make my goal....yikes!).

Now I haven't mentioned this before, but man, Grace is really growing up. My little girl, who's really been doing some reading here and there for a bit, has just ballooned into a really good reader out of no where. Makes me proud AND sad that she's getting older (and that I can't spell things in front of her anymore......guess I'll have to learn a new language soon). I'd love to figure out what "level" she's reading on, but she surprises me all the time with the things she's picking up on. At first, I think we just thought she was memorizing the words, but she has picked up books for the first time, never having anyone reading them to her before, and reading 98% of the words. Now we just have to pray she gets better with her handwriting.....lol. That still needs some work =)

Now, here's a yummy recipe for you to try. I just tried this last week and it was soooo good and over all pretty healthy. After the recipe, I'll tell you the modifications I made, which wasn't really all that much. By the way, I saw this recipe made on a show called Jon and Kate Plus 8, which is about a couple who had a set of twins and then a set of sextuplets through infertility treatments. Talk about a full house! Anyway, a chef named Sara Snow visited and made this on the show, so I went to Sara's website and grabbed the recipe. Yum Yum Yum.

2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 C Ground Flax Seed
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Cardamon, or Cloves (ground)

1/2 C Room Temperature Butter
1/2 C Natural Cane Sugar
1/2 C Honey
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Small Apple, Chopped (Granny Smith is the best)
1/2 C Raisins
1/2 C Chopped Apricots
1 1/2 C Unsweetened Coconut
3 C Oats (oatmeal)
1/4 C Applesauce
1 C Chopped Walnuts or Almonds (Optional)

In a bowl, mix dry ingredients together (flour, salt, baking soda, spices, flaxseed)

In another bowl, beat butter and sugar. Then add in honey, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly add in the dry mix and beat together. Stir in oats, applesauce, coconut and fruit. Drop spoonfuls onto baking sheet and bake 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees.

Now I used golden raisins instead of regular, I used dried apricots (which I think is what they meant to use, but they didn't specify). I used sweetened coconut because I couldn't find unsweetened but I didn't use as much. I also used only about 2- 2 1/4 cups of the oats because it seemed that it was going to be too much. I didn't make it with the nuts, but I think if you like nuts, it would be good to add. I also baked it for more than the 14 minutes, and I think it came out closer to 20. I basically baked it until it was starting to brown around the edges. The recipe takes some prep time, but its a very yummy treat. Try it and let me know what you think!!

Playing Tricks

You gotta love it when you and your spouse can play hilarious tricks on one another and the both of you can laugh about it. One of the things I love most about my husband is his sense of humor and ability to make me laugh (and his ability to laugh at my jokes, too). I love you, Ray!

So, I'm getting ready to leave the house today to run errands and I had to jump on my computer for something. As soon as my laptop is powered up I noticed the cute little computer background I had of Grace and Nate had been replaced with this:

In case you don't know who she is, she is the gorgeous Italian chef on the Food Network show Everyday Italian. Well, I pretended nothing happened and never mentioned anything to Ray about the incident; instead, when I returned home after running my errands, I set this as the background on Ray's computer to subtly let him know I saw what he did to my computer and that I was getting him back:

And in case you don't know who that is, that is Brody Jenner, the son of former Olympian Bruce Jenner. So, I then shut his computer back down so he wouldn't suspect me of anything. A little while after Ray returned home, he turned on his computer. A minute later I heard a yell from the bedroom and he mumbled about getting me back. But wait! I was getting HIM back to begin with!

Ah, the perils of playing tricks on the ones we love......

Growing Up

Ok, so you get two posts in one day. What a deal! But really, I actually would have posted this earlier, but I wanted to ensure I got a decent pic before I blogged.

My little girl is indeed growing fast. The other day Grace asked to get her ears pierced. Ray and I decided before Grace was born that when she was old enough to want and ask to get her ears pierced, we would do it. You see, I came from a house where my parents (mostly my mom, I'm sure, lol) pierced my ears when I was still just an infant. Ray, however, grew up in a different house, and so our views happened to clash. But, we decided on this little compromise, and then 5.5 years later, the day came. After waiting a few days, I asked her again if she still wanted to do this, and her answer was an enthusiastic YES. So there it was, our little girl wanted to pierce her ears.

We had to make a trip to the mall, and decided that while we were there, we'd surprise Grace and get her ears done on Sunday. When we got to Claire's there were 2 other girls in line wanting to get their ears done, too. One girl was about 8 or 9 and the other girl just turned 5. I wasn't sure Grace would still want to get her ears done after watching the other girls, but she was adamant about watching them, and not for one moment during the piercing process did she take her eyes off of the girls. While we were waiting, she got a chance to look at the earring choices and pick which one she wanted. I had scoped out the earrings ahead of time and knew she'd pick the white gold pink flower earrings, and she proved me right. I don't even think it took her 10 seconds to decide either. She also decided that she did not want both ears done at the very same time; she decided she wanted one ear done at a time. Whoa. She was really determined about this, too. I must have asked her like 6 times, and each time her answer remained the same. So one at time it was. And let me say, she was very brave, and she didn't even flinch. I wasn't quite sure who she was, because this is supposed to be the same girl who screams bloody murder when I try to brush knots out of her hair. But anyway, Here are some pics of the journey.

We just told her about her ears


Getting the marks for the holes done


This is her getting the second ear done,
look how calm she looks


All done!

Weight Loss

I've been in sort of a rut lately. It all started back in February right around my birthday. I got a nasty chest cold that left me with an awful cough for weeks, making it difficult to speak at times without hacking up a lung, let alone trying to work out with an elevated heart rate. I know, I know...excuses, excuses but it was the truth. I did let it get out of hand, because eventually I felt better, but I still hadn't made it to the gym. And then it seems like every week, and every day, there's yet another reason I can't go. Sigh.

Its been frustrating to say the least. Add to that my actual "diet" has struggled with a war between what I should eat and what I want to eat. Let's just say that what I wanted to eat has usually been the victor each and every time.

A couple of weeks ago after being at my highest weight since AUGUST, something inside my brain turned off some switches and turned some other switches on. I have ALWAYS wanted to stay on track, but it has not been easy. I never wanted to stay the same for nearly 6 months either. While its great I've basically maintained my weight that long, I should have still been making progress; I have a long road still ahead of me and treading water isn't going to get me anywhere. I am sick and tired, as cliche as that sounds, of maintaining. I had a plan that this summer was going to be great, and as the weeks and months have gone by and the weight has went up and down the same 5 lbs, I saw my summer slipping away. But two weeks ago, that trigger in my brain, somewhere, said enough! I was maintaining, fluctuating between 5 lbs, but then once I got up to a point where I hadn't been in 8 months, it was time to get back in control of this weight thing for sure. I got back on track with the Weight Watchers Core plan (I'll explain that in a minute) and last week I lost 4.2 lbs, and this week I am down another 1.2 lbs. I had close to the same success the first two weeks i tried this last time, but I let it slowly get out of control and didn't follow the plan too closely. This time I plan on making it farther than 2 weeks, for sure. My plan, as of 2 weeks ago, was to be down 30 lbs by June 30th. Basically, if I lose an average of 2 lbs a week from here on out, I will make it. I plan on trying my hardest to do that, because that will put me at weight (that I should have been at MONTHS ago) that will allow me to have a pretty good summer after all.

Now what is the Core Plan? The core plan is a plan that consists of a list of foods that you can eat from. Now, with WW Points plan, you can eat whatever, but you must count your points. You get a specified amount per day and then 35 extra for the week to use however and whenever you wish. So, if you really terrible, and you don't have any points left, too bad. You starve. With the core plan, however, you can eat when ever you want and whatever you want from that list of core foods. Now, I know eating from a "list" may sound restricted, but its not really. I think, probably out of the majority of diets I've learned about over the years, this is probably one of the most sound. This to me is how we should be eating with the occasional treats. Here is the list:

• Any vegetables- canned, fresh, frozen, as long as there's no added sugar (i.e. spaghetti sauce)
• Any fruits- canned, fresh, frozen, as long as there's no added sugar
• Non-creamy soups (w/o rice or pasta in it)-canned, frozen, homemade
• Whole wheat pasta, brown rice (limit to once a day), potatoes (limit to once a day), and grains
• High-fiber and other cereals with no sugar added
• Lean meats, fish, poultry, and eggs
  
• Fat free milk products (skim milk, ff cheese, ff yogurt, etc.)
  
• Healthy oils such as canola, olive, safflower, sunflower and flaxseed oils
• Condiments such as capers, cocktail sauce, extracts, flavorings, spices, herbs, horseradish, hot sauce, ketchup, lemon or lime juice, mustard, fat free salsa, soy sauce, steak sauce, sugar substitutes, taco sauce, teriyaki sauce, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.
• Coffee, tea, and sugar free beverages
  

Now the core plan also gives you 35 points a week to eat non-core foods. Now what I've been doing, which isn't following it to a T, but as close as possible, is I've been making things like eggs for breakfast with two thin, low calorie slices of toast with a little bit of smart balance on top. Or I make oatmeal with skim milk (all core) and add a tad of sugar. Little things that I add back in, but are probably within my 35 pts a week even though I'm not keeping complete track of it. I think its still eating WAY better than I have been eating in the past, even with the WW points plan. This plan also allows you to eat as much as you need to be satisfied. they obviously want you to not stuff yourself like Thanksgiving every day, but you're not limited to have to stop at three bites either. I don't know exactly what it is with this plan exactly, but my body likes it. I love my milk and I get at least a glass a day with the core plan with no worries.

So anyway, that's my weight loss update for now. Sorry I've been lacking, but along with my renewed spirit I will try to blog more often about my journey.

Something's Missing

From this picture.....can you guess what?

Grace lost her THIRD tooth this morning. Well, maybe I shouldn't say lost, but rather "pulled" out =)

Nature's Beauty

There's one thing really awesome about living in the HOT place I live. The sunsets are UNREAL. This past weekend, my wonderful husband surprised me with a short trip to the west coast, or should I clarify with Gulf coast. I've always wanted to watch the sunset on the west coast, as I've seen plenty of beautiful east coast sunrises. Folks, it was beautifully breathtaking. Here are some pics from the trip.

Just before the sun's magnificent decent, it was hiding behind the clouds


Pure beauty

The sun wasn't hiding, I was just taking a picture of the clouds

Almost gone...


Once the sun was out of view, you can hear people
all over the beach applaud




After the sun is gone

This last photo wasn't a sunset, but it was a really cool pic I took
on the way home. Just look at the sun rays beaming through the clouds.

American Idol

Watch out American Idol.....here comes Grace! Here's a video Ray's sister, Katie took almost 3 years ago. It was lost until a few days ago, and boy is it funny to see. The video is Grace singing a song from Kelly Clarkson called "Since You've Been Gone." And in case you've lived under a rock for several years, Kelly Clarkson was the very first winner of American Idol. She's still my favorite singer out of the American Idol competition, and I think she's still the most talented one. But anyway, enjoy the video. It's HILARIOUS!!

You'll notice the milk breaks, the smooth dance moves and how all the notes are in tune! Ha ha. But its seriously cute. And in case you're wondering, Grace is about 2 years and 8 months old in this.

Back in the Old Days.....

On Friday a girl in Grace's class fell on the playground and busted her lip open pretty good from how Grace explained it. This was the arched monkey bar type thing that Grace also fell and busted her lip on, too. Well, Grace said the little girl had to go to the office, which when Grace got hurt, she did not have to go to the office, so this told me that this might have been pretty bad. Anyway, the little girl was back in school today. I asked Grace how the girl was doing, and Grace told me she was fine, but she had stitches. Then Grace proceeded to ask me whether or not I ever had stitches. I've never had them because I got hurt, so I told her about the time Ray cut his hand at work pretty badly. At the time, I was working at a dermatologist office, and I was pregnant with Grace. I told her that he came by office and one of the doctors stitched up Ray's hand for him. Grace then says, with all seriousness, "Oh. So, back in the old days, Daddy had to get stitches?"

Thanks, Grace! I had to tell her that she wasn't born "back in the old days," that it was only a mere 5 years ago. Kids.

Trying New Things

In my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I've been looking for and trying new things and ideas for dinners. I really don't mind cooking too much, however, I must add that I don't mind cooking too much IF I can focus on it, pay all of my attention to it and just have some peace and quiet without interruptions while in the kitchen. So basically, its very rare that I enjoy cooking because none of the pre-requisites seem to ever exist. I've really fallen in love with crock pot cooking because the beauty in it is that I get all the "hard" parts of the cooking out of the way when I have one child at home and there's no fighting between the two, less distractions in the earlier part of the day because there are no cranky, tired children around needing me every second. I am not complaining about Nate and Grace. I understand Nate's 2 and kids are kids, and at the end of the day they are cranky and tired. I don't mind them needing me, but it makes it hard for me to cook when they want me with them. So with the crock pot, when the end of the day starts getting a little hectic, I am able to be more useful and dinner is happily cooking away by itself in the kitchen, and it makes for a less stressed evening for all parties involved.

Now, not all recipes I've been discovering have been crock pot based, unfortunately. However, I have found one VERY easy recipe that I just tried last night and I must say, I was very surprised by how yummy it was. Even Ray, who is not a fan of the dish usually, said it was quite good. I liked it so much that I wanted to share it on my blog for all to enjoy. **I take no responsibility though if you do not like it =) I put the recipe below, and in bold italics is what I did. The nutrional info is if you follow the recipe to the T....however, to figure out the info on what you use, just add info for the can of soup, the crescent rolls, the vegetables, and the chicken, then divide by 4 since the pie serves 4. If you need to feed more than 3 people, I suggest doubling the recipe. You can also use other pans than just the pie plate if you need to.

Bon Appétit!

Chicken Pot Pie:

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. raw boneless skinless chicken breast; cut into bite-sized pieces (I used about 1 lb)
• 3 cups Petite Mixed Vegetables (or any other frozen mixed vegetables) (I bought a small bag and added some little by little so I didn't add too much)
• 1 can (10.75 oz.) Campbell's Condensed Soup, 98% Fat Free Cream of Celery
• 3 Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls (unprepared) (I used 4 on top and I also used some to put on the bottom. However, the recipe only calls for these to be on top and is less in calories if you follow the recipe)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute chicken pieces for several minutes in a pan spritzed with nonstick cooking spray, until chicken is light brown/cooked but still tender; set aside. Heat frozen veggies in microwave according to package. Mix chicken, vegetables and soup together and put in a 9" round baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place dish in oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly (stir about halfway through). While dish is cooking, unroll 3 crescent rolls. Combine pieces together with hands to make one large ball of dough. With a rolling pin, roll dough out into a circle to cover top of dish. Add dough to the top of the dish and cook for an additional 15 - 20 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serves 4.

Serving Size: 1/4th pie (approx. 7 oz.)

Calories: 210

Fat: 6g

Sodium: 800mg

Carbs: 24g

Fiber: 2.5g

Sugars: 6g

Protein: 16.5g

*Weight Watcher Points: 4 Points

This in my opinion is just as good as the ones you buy in the freezer for WAY less calories, fat and sodium! You can also alter this to use biscuits or whole wheat products as well. This was VERY simple and very fast! I'm trying some other recipes this week, so look for more recipe blogs!