Friday, October 26, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Pumpkin Patch Awesomeness - 2012
We really do love this farm. They have so many things little kids can do. They have a maze made out of hay, a playground, spooky themes set up throughout the farm, and (best of all) a tractor ride!!!
These last two pictures were of Henry and Emmett when we were in the "spooky barn" during the tractor ride. It wasn't very scary but they certainly were concerned :)
*Disclaimer: a certain seven year old took many of these pictures and changed some settings on my camera that I have yet to figure out. That's why some of them have a dark exposure.
Carter Mountain 2012 - Apple Picking, Pumpkin Kicking, Liquor Needing Fun
The Roeders and The Starkeys have very definite needs during the fall and winter season. For the fall, we MUST:
Go
This is an absolute must. The scenery is beautiful, the apples are awesome and the experience is an amazing family memory maker. But frankly, it's also nice to see other parents with multiple children brought to their absolute wit's end because you know your in the club then. It's called the parent hazing process.
When children are babies, apple picking is simply a fantastic experience where you can get the cute little pictures of them holding an apple (and hopefully trying to shove it in their mouth). When the babies grow up, it turns into a full on Iron Man marathon. I almost expect to see tired parents lying in the ditches whimpering, "I can't go on, I...just....can't." Two year olds like to do whatever they like to do and believe me, we tried to strap him to a stroller. That worked for all of two seconds.
George LOVED LOVED LOVED picking apples. I think this was the first year he really enjoyed himself. We got to the Granny Smith's and he just went wild. Good thing 3/4 of this family love Granny Smith's. Mark would put George on his shoulders so that he could reach the really high apples and he absolutely loved that. Henry simply loved running around the trees, tripping over the fallen apples, and chasing Emmett around. The images of my children laughing and running through the orchard that day are scorched into my brain.
I hope my children remember these outings as fun family trips. I hope they remember the smell of the orchards and the image of the beautiful mountains. I hope they remember our wonderful friends (who are basically family) and the great time we had. I know I will.
"No no, Henry, don't get up. We will just move around you."
Laurel and I enjoyed watching the husbands wrangle the kids. There might have been laughing involved.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
My secret to dieting is...
Not dieting. Tell dieting to go eff itself. Dieting represents a state of mind. A temporary position in life, if you will. Something to endure to get to a goal and then go back to the status quo.
This is unacceptable. Mostly because from the moment we decided on lap band, they pound into your head with a metal hammer the idea of making healthy choices and to think about this as a lifestyle change. I thought, "blah blah blah" because I have heard this all before. As everyone knows, that crap is easier said than done. SURE I can just change the way I think about eating in the blink of an eye. SURE I can force myself to not like donuts and pizza. Can you feel the sarcasm? I was sure I could do this for a while but we all know what happens when we feel like we are being deprived of something. We just want it more. This thought process was what frightened me the most about taking such a drastic step. What if I failed again?
This is why I think everyone who needs to lose weight, whether it's through traditional methods or surgery AND traditional methods, needs to seek counseling. You need to talk to someone about when and why you eat. I am telling you, it helps. My counselor said to me one day, "Try not to think of it as not being able to eat what you want. For every meal, ALWAYS eat something you like. Make sure it's healthy and it fits into your plan but don't eat things just because you are supposed to. You need to eat what you like or you will feel deprived."
Holy cow. What a revolutionary concept. Don't eat food you don't like just because it's healthy. I frankly had not thought of that. I guess, subconsciously, I had resigned myself to eating plain salad and chicken. Then, one day, I wouldn't be able to take that anymore and fail...AGAIN.
I found this advice freeing. I went home and scoured the web for awesome, yummy recipes. I found stuff that I look forward to eating. 70 calorie faux Frosty-like smoothies? Yes please. Breadless meatball subs? Hell yes. Thin crust pizza? AWESOME. In the process, I ran across a few other "bandsters" who had made the journey before me and were successful.
That brings me to the second thing anyone who wants to lose a lot of weight, needs. An excellent support system which consists of understanding friends and family along with people that have made the journey before you and have been successful. A few times I have run across forums that were filled with people who had failed at losing weight with the band and blamed it on anything/everyone but themselves. These people can have a negative impact on your outlook and you need to be wary.
On Friday, I hit the 30lb mark with absolutely no fill in my band. I may need a fill in the future but that's ok. I don't have anymore cravings. I don't miss foods. In fact, we went to the State Fair this weekend I ate bites of everything my family had. Pumpkin funnel cakes, ice cream, corn dogs, etc...you get the point. We got home at 9 and I promptly worked out. Did I lose weight that night? Hell no. Did I gain? Nope. I even logged ALL of it in my food diary. It was 1600 calorie kind of day.
My point is this journey is going to be on my terms. If I want something I am going to have a small portion and not feel guilty about it. This is the way I am going to live the rest of my life and I am actually really excited about that.
This is unacceptable. Mostly because from the moment we decided on lap band, they pound into your head with a metal hammer the idea of making healthy choices and to think about this as a lifestyle change. I thought, "blah blah blah" because I have heard this all before. As everyone knows, that crap is easier said than done. SURE I can just change the way I think about eating in the blink of an eye. SURE I can force myself to not like donuts and pizza. Can you feel the sarcasm? I was sure I could do this for a while but we all know what happens when we feel like we are being deprived of something. We just want it more. This thought process was what frightened me the most about taking such a drastic step. What if I failed again?
This is why I think everyone who needs to lose weight, whether it's through traditional methods or surgery AND traditional methods, needs to seek counseling. You need to talk to someone about when and why you eat. I am telling you, it helps. My counselor said to me one day, "Try not to think of it as not being able to eat what you want. For every meal, ALWAYS eat something you like. Make sure it's healthy and it fits into your plan but don't eat things just because you are supposed to. You need to eat what you like or you will feel deprived."
Holy cow. What a revolutionary concept. Don't eat food you don't like just because it's healthy. I frankly had not thought of that. I guess, subconsciously, I had resigned myself to eating plain salad and chicken. Then, one day, I wouldn't be able to take that anymore and fail...AGAIN.
I found this advice freeing. I went home and scoured the web for awesome, yummy recipes. I found stuff that I look forward to eating. 70 calorie faux Frosty-like smoothies? Yes please. Breadless meatball subs? Hell yes. Thin crust pizza? AWESOME. In the process, I ran across a few other "bandsters" who had made the journey before me and were successful.
That brings me to the second thing anyone who wants to lose a lot of weight, needs. An excellent support system which consists of understanding friends and family along with people that have made the journey before you and have been successful. A few times I have run across forums that were filled with people who had failed at losing weight with the band and blamed it on anything/everyone but themselves. These people can have a negative impact on your outlook and you need to be wary.
On Friday, I hit the 30lb mark with absolutely no fill in my band. I may need a fill in the future but that's ok. I don't have anymore cravings. I don't miss foods. In fact, we went to the State Fair this weekend I ate bites of everything my family had. Pumpkin funnel cakes, ice cream, corn dogs, etc...you get the point. We got home at 9 and I promptly worked out. Did I lose weight that night? Hell no. Did I gain? Nope. I even logged ALL of it in my food diary. It was 1600 calorie kind of day.
My point is this journey is going to be on my terms. If I want something I am going to have a small portion and not feel guilty about it. This is the way I am going to live the rest of my life and I am actually really excited about that.
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