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I don't know about you all... but I'm starting to think I may have an unhealthy obsession with tote bag making:

Check out those pictures!

Four more coming this weekend ;)

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Please welcome the newest addition to my family - my first handmade tote bag.  I'll be handing out celebration cigars around town ;) The tears just about start to flow every time I look at my new bag. 

Just wait until I finish Kaitlynn's dress tomorrow!!

I called my childrens' pediatrician's office at 8 a.m. this morning to make an appointment and they said they could fit all three of them in at 9 a.m.  Seeing as we hadn't quite gotten ourselves ready for the day I had to really rush around to have us to the doctor's office in time. 

My oldest son Andrew has very sensitive skin, excema, allergies, asthma - you name it. He went swimming on Sunday afternoon and his excema got much worse than it normally is. I've been applying Aquaphor, giving him Benadryl periodically and using Hydrocortisone all over his body.  We recently switched his soap to Dove (recommended by doctors) and switched the type of sunscreen we were using.  The rash is very itchy, so naturally he's scratching, which in turn is causing it to spread... and appear even worse.  I also wanted his hearing re-tested. He had tubes put in both ears almost a year ago and recently has been asking us to repeat just about everything we say to him. I can't tell if he's just being a five year old and not paying much attention or if he is having problems with his ears again.

Kaitlynn has had a runny nose for a few days - nothing to rush her in for though - until this morning. She woke up with a croup-like cough, which unfortunately is one sickness that in my opinion she contracts way too often.  Also, she walks and runs on her tiptoes all day every day so I've been worried how this might effect her feet, posture, back.. etc.  In addition, it's causing the bottoms of her toes to have little tears and cuts in the creases. If and/or when they get bad enough, they start to bleed and she becomes one unhappy camper.

This was Mitchell's 4th visit to the doctor for the same reason. He's been developing dry spots on his body for at least the past two months.  They pop up on various parts of his body, stay for a a week or so then disappear - until another makes an appearance. They are always in a circular shape so I was concerned that it could possibly be ringworm. Really, this appointment today was for a second opinion from a different doctor since I had been told previously that it was nothing to get worked up about and to just leave it alone.

We spent a little under 90 minutes at the doctor's office today.  After all was said and done, what was recommended to to treat all of these ailments?? Absolutely nothing.  I was told Andrew's rash wasn't that bad, his hearing test was normal, Kaitlynn just has a cold and her tiptoe walking is normal... and again, Mitchell's skin is just dry. 

I finished the appointment irritated and frustrated because I didn't feel like I left with any real answers or helpful information. In addition to all of this, I came home to a message from my doctor's office.  When I called back, they informed that in fact, my toe is not broken as my doctor originally thought it was and there is nothing that can be done at this point. I guess what I'm really wanting is a piece of paper, with the name of a magic medicine to fix everything! Which got me pondering on the way home: Is our society too quick to medicate? You're depressed, here's a pill.  Your kid has a short attention span, it's ADD, here's a different pill.  Got a cough? Have a suppressant.  It was really hard for me to accept "wait and see" approach today.   Why can't we just 'endure' instead of constantly rushing to 'fix' ?  Obviously there are many situations where medication and treatments are warranted, but today, apparently ours wasn't one of them.

Some really cool things happened this week!

#1 - You may recall in an earlier posting this week, that I said it would be a miracle from God Himself if I gained less than two pounds. The Almighty One came through for me this week - I LOST  0.8 pounds!  If my body can do that when I eat terribly, just think of what I can accomplish if I stay on program?? That is my inspration for keeping myself on the right track this week.

#2 - After I had made my way through the Weigh-In line at the Weight Watchers meeting this morning, the leader (Nancy) says to me " Guess who I've been talking about all week at my meetings?" Well, the answer was me.  A fellow Weight Watchers member brought her a copy of my original weight loss blog that had been published in the Californian. I had no clue that my blog ever really made it there, so it was nice to see a hard copy!

#3 - I am officially able to say that I have lost ALL my 3rd baby weight!  I'm 41 pounds lighter than I was on August 28th when I gave birth to our 7 pound, 2 ounce Mitchell Allen.  21 pounds to go until I'm "normal" and about 30 or so to go until I get to my ultimate goal.

It's going to be a long but exciting (and hopefully not TOO agonizing) road!!

Second Week, Weight Loss - 0.8 pounds. Blech. Much lower than the first week, which was expected. I like to lose at least a pound a week, but a loss is a loss, no?

The "Beyond" part - Where the heck did my willpower go this weekend? Right out the window... and took my motivation with it. We were out of town Friday through Sunday. On Friday night at my Grandfather's house, dinner was served. Baked chicken with steamed veggies and water would have been ideal. Instead it was Pizza from "The Greasiest Pizza Place in Hacienda Heights, Ca.", with salad covered in cheese, croutons and REGULAR (gasp!) Ranch dressing, plus Ruffles with Ranch and tortilla chips with salsa on the side.

Saturday would be better!! Until the person we were staying with (my sister) brought home Enteman's donuts and donut holes for breakfast. She always does this as a treat for my children whenever we stay there.. but that's where the picture gets fuzzy for me sometimes..... it's supposed to be for the children.  We had our usual lunch at Mcd's as we always do with my Aunt on Saturday's when we're back at home. I did well, a side salad with light dressing, a snack wrap and a Diet Coke.  Then our little playdate with my cousins started to run a longer than expected and I got hungry.... again.  I ate two chocolate chip cookies - BAD CHRISTINA!  For dinner was a kidless meal at no place other than The Cheesecake Factory!  YUMMY.  I knew they had "Weight Management Salads", but in honor of me feeling bad for missing the MNO at Heather's, I opted for a Pineapple Mojito, an Avocado Egg Roll, a Tex Mex Egg Roll, the Baja Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cream (bad word when dieting!) sauce which included rice and beans, a side salad and a few bites of my sister's Spicy Cashew Chicken and my other sister's Madeira Chicken. (feeling hungry right now) .. Oh.. and don't forget the bread baskets. 

Okay - so Sunday was a BBQ - GRILLED food, can't be too bad right? Well, for those who know me well enough (which I don't think is anyone on this site ) since I'm not a big meat eater, grilled meat means pretty much nothing to me.  I want the sides. So my meal consisted of jalapeno cheese bread, a southwest veggie salad, breadsticks with red peper sauce (anyone seeing a theme here with bread?) some cheese, salad with non-diet dressing on it, potato salad.. I could go on, but I won't. I feel guilty enough as it is.  I wasn't planning on having dessert (not big on sweets) but my Stepmom brought me an already cut (and giant) piece of chocolate coffee cake, and heck.. Father's Day only comes once a year, right? GRRRRR.  Maybe she's trying to sabotage me.. yah .. that's it ;)

So Monday was my new start.. but it just didn't happen. I was tempted by brownies at the park playdate, Doritos at lunch .. and unfortunately cooking didn't happen last night so it was Del Taco for dinner, where I didn't hold back.  Today I actually did really well, until my husband suggested McDonald's for dessert. Will it ever end??? As terrible as I've been this week, I am going to attend my Weight Watchers meeting this Friday and face the music.  If I gained anything less than two pounds, it will have been a miracle from God Himself.

Wow. What a novel. Guess I'm having a bit of "diet guilt" tonight.  Tomorrow is a new day and I'm starting over (once again). Please send some "Make Christina's appetite tiny" waves over my way for the next few days.

When Summer was just on the horizon, I was excited for a bit of a lighter schedule, even though in the back of my head, I knew that wasn't going to happen.  Now, with all these great playdates going on with the Meetup group, plus our other friends we spend time with, then of course swimming lessons, gymnastics and Weight Watchers meetings, not to mention grocery shopping, doctor's appointments, errand running and taking care of the house.... I feel as if I've lost my mind. Yet, do I every say no?? No. I don't. I think of how much fun my children would have at the pool, how excited they would be to see a movie at the park or the great relief I get from actual adult conversation, and I just can't turn it down.  Once we're home for afternoon naps, I run around like a mad woman trying to get laundry put away, breakfast dishes washed and food put together for dinner.  I need to take a stand against myself!!!

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When grocery shopping, I'm a planner. I will choose 7 meals with sides, make my shopping list and organize it by which aisle it's on or department it's in.  So, the idea is that I have everything we need for the week and at the end of 7 days, I will purchase supplies for 7 new meals. However, schedules get overloaded, unplanned activites pop up and we'll end up eating out. By the middle of the week, I either tend to forget what meals I had planned for, or if I do remember, the produce I needed has gone bad.  Many times, when I do cook we'll have leftovers and I have the best intentions when saving those leftovers for later in the week.  However, again, playdates, Doctor appointments or parties surprise us at the last minute and we don't get to re-heat our leftovers. Last week I decided it had been way too long since I had cleaned out the refrigerator - check out those pictures and look at how much food I threw out! How wasteful is that?!? It really saddens me to see how trivial we are about throwing away a resource that people in other countries (or our own) barely have access to! So for 2 weeks now, I have cooked every night and used every item that has been purchased at Vons...... And in exchange, my produce drawer has stayed clean :)

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It's a good thing my husband married me and not someone else.. that would maybe freak out and lose all sense of reality during an emergency.  Whenever my children are in major distress I play the role of the calm Mommy. When our then 2 1/2 year old had a severe allergic reaction and started to go into anaphylactic shock (while I was 38 weeks pregnant) I did what any mom would do I guess - Calmy assigned someone to call 911, let the paramedics do their job, and once he was loaded into the ambulance, I could cry.. really cry!  When one of our kids has a bleeding appendage, or what looks to be a broken bone, my husband is usually screaming about how bad it is, while I'm trying to just "fix" it. I do what needs to be done, then the moment someone else is able to take over I pretty much lose it emotionally.  My husband on the other hand will freak out from the get go.  Tonight, even though Daddy wasn't here to help remind me why I need to keep my cool, I was able to do it anyway.  We were eating our dinner peacefully, when my 9 month old started gagging and choking on a piece of bread I had given him. Normally, I'm able to just take a look at him, and by the time the noise has gotten my attention, the choking has subsided. Unfortunately this incident was different.  The gagging and choking started.. and didn't stop - right away anyway.  I stuck my fingers in his mouth (BIG no-no) to no avail. Finally, I lifted him out of his high chair and performed what I call the "Baby Heimlich" - laid him across the length of my forearm and started giving him swift blows in an upward motion on his back. If this had gone on much longer at all, I would have had my five year old dialing 911 for assistance. After what felt like forever, the bread eventually dislodged, along with everything he had eaten before.  Then the paranoia set in. I was absolutely shaken.  Shaking physically, emotionally, mentally.  It's so funny the coping mechanisms we're given as moms (and dad's too!). I didn't feel one bit of terror during the ordeal, but the exact moment that I knew everything was going to be alright, I could let my guard down and let myself "feel" again.

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I'm venting here, because I was very frustrated this evening. 

You know what I really hate???? I HATE when I tell my kids repeatedly not to do something annoying/dangerous/crazy because they are going to get hurt or hurt someone else... and they do it anyway!

Today my son and daughter were walking through the house with random items covering their faces.  (a hat, their t-shirts, towels, etc.) Me, being the nagging mother that I am, kept reminding them to not do it, because somebody was going to get hurt.  Did they listen? NOOOOOOOOOO. 

Out of all the things my clutz of a daughter could walk into, it was the square corner of a wooden bookshelf.  Then came the blood curdling screams and me envisioning what I was going to find when I walked in to examine the injury.  It was ugly, but it could have been so much worse!

I didn't do as well as I thought I would have, seeing as this is my first week back on Weight Watchers in quite a few months.  I did some great things, and some not so great things.  For example, I made 4 new low point meals for dinner that I found on the Weight Watchers website, but they tasted so good that I ate entirely too much of them.  I stayed on program somedays, and other days felt completely off. In spite of my mistakes, I am 4.2 pounds lighter this week :) I would love to celebrate by ordering pizza tonight but that would be self-defeating. So we're having garlic chicken with brown rice and broccoli.  Update again in about 7 days!!

My 3 year old daughter is not much of a napper, never has been. But still, I always lay her down for a nap so at least she has some downtime each day and then I can have some peace in our home for awhile in the afternoon from all three children.  Yesterday, while NOT napping, she made a bit of a mess in her room.  She was asked to start picking it up at 5 p.m. yesterday evening.  All she did was sit in her room and start to make a bigger mess. She had to miss out on our fun coloring session last night and I had to take away the Movies at the Park that we were going to attend.  It eventually got down to screaming, kicking and crying for awhile before bed, then she was finally asleep. So four hours later, zero progress.

This morning when she woke up, she was in a great mood, ate her breakfast and was told to pick her toys up off the floor in her room once more.  I've repeatedly checked on her, sat in there with her, threatened, warned.. you name it.  It's now been over 2 hours, and still, not one single thing is picked up.  So now I've had to take away her gymnastics class at 11 a.m., and if something doesn't get done soon, I won't feel right taking her to a swimming playdate this afternoon. (sorry Heather).

My question is, how far would you go to NOT give in? to prove your point? to win the battle? Part of my parenting style is to really, really stick to my guns.  I'm not a really big fan of Dr. Phil, but he has said before to try not to fight with your kids. But if you have to, make sure you always win.  I understand picking your battles, but I think this is one I should pick.  SO.... do I let this go on for days? a week? even longer?  We had this same issue with our 6 year old recently, where it took him three days to clean his room. In that time, he was only to come out to use the bathroom, go to school and eat meals.  It worked though! He now cleans his room, every day, no arguing, no protesting, no crying.  But there is a 2 1/2 year age difference between my two older kids, so I want to make sure I'm being sensitive to the abilities of my 3 year old.. still I don't think it's too much to ask to throw a few (literally) toys in a toy box and put some books away.

So How far would you go???

Explain to me why it is that when I have an overloaded dishwasher I will still spend 5 minutes or more rearranging an entire rack just to fit one more dirty item in, so that I don't have to handwash it. 

I might have to lean towards Heather's idea of paper plates, makes you a better mom anyway, right???

Tell me I'm not crazy.

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Some of you may recall my recent blog entitled - My Hall Closet is an Evil Reminder.  In that writing, I speak of all my unfinished projects that I will certainly never accomplish.  Well I would like to say, that contrary to what I wrote about my never used sewing machine, I have created a few.... dare I say Masterpieces? No. I won't say that. Not for a few years probably. But I thought I'd share them anyway.  There is the taggy blanket that is made of real tags, because apparenlty my son can tell the difference between tags and just pieces of folded ribbon.  You'll see the baby blanket I made for a friend's 4 week old (luckily she's too young to point out the mistakes),  a headband that was more difficult than I could have ever imagined... and to top it all off my daughter won't wear it, and then there's the blanket I made this afternoon that is going to a one year old for his birthday in about a week.

If anyone here has sewing experience PLEASE share your wisdom with me!

If I would have been speaking out loud in Vons today -

"Oh Dear Lord, please give me the strength to manage my children for the next 20 minutes, and still come out of it sane.  Please keep Mitchell from crying, Kaitlynn from running into that one lady, again, and Andrew from collapsing the baking potato display...... again.   Give me serenity so that I do not scream outrageously, in turn hurting the ears of these poor, unsuspecting kidless grocery shoppers today.  Grant me the creativty to give a new answer for the next time I hear, "Mommy can we buy this?".  Prevent my fingers from dialing the nearest orphanage the next time Andrew 'hides' from me in the adjacent aisle.  And most importantly, bestow upon me the patience to not beat my children for breaking each and every single rule that we discussed in detail repeatedly during the car ride over here. (sigh) Amen.  That's it! You're going straight home and taking a nap! No you cannot have those fruit snacks!! No dessert for you guys tonight! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry about that sir. Kaitlynn watch where you're going.  Move out of the way so she can get through Andrew. Leave those roses alone! Please put the yogurt in the cart gently.  Sorry, we still have to get tortillas and cornstarch................ AHHHHHHH!"