A wonderful weekend and flat for the week

We had a wonderful weekend here in Southern Illinois.  The weather was close to perfect.  Yesterday we took a family walk.  This area is abundant in State Parks and trails so we do this quite often.  Here are some pictures from our walk...

Leave it to my husband to be taking pictures from behind!

Why are we laughing you ask???  My younger boy loudly broke wind!  Oh the life with boys!

My daughter was so excited.  She is almost 2 and she found "Shrek's house"!


Weight loss has ended up flat for the week.  No loss or gain.  I don't have a fill scheduled until Sept 29.  I ended up with 5lb loss for August.  I guess that isn't too bad, it just wasn't as fast as before.  I have figured out the tanning and exercising dilema I had before.  I have found a new place to tan that is a mile from my house.  It is a super mega bronzer bed (it even talks to you).  I will only have to tan once a week to maintain what I have so that will free up a lot of time for exercise.  I really need it!  OK I can't figure out how to get out of this add caption stuff.  I guess it will just have to stay this way!  Everyone have a great Monday! 

The bandwagon has left without me

I have fallen!  The bandwagon just kept going.  Up 2 lbs this week.  I still have been having trouble exercising because of my port causing issues.  It has been getting better though.  Restriction has lessened up.  What sucks is I changed my appointment because it was the week of our town's big festival and I didn't want to be pbing if I tried some "fair food."  In doing so, I set myself back 2 whole weeks.  I am really going to try and get back on right away!

Question about ports and pain...

I have been stepping up my exercise quite a bit.  On Friday last week, my stomach started to hurt some right where my port is located.  I can palapate my port and feel it.  It was like a pulling, tugging feeling.  The only way that I can describe it is like the round ligament pain in pregnancy.   Anyway, back to the story...  I hurt a bit all weekend, but wrote it off as the extra exercise that I had been doing.  We went for the bike ride this weekend and it didn't hurt.  Tonight, I tried to do my cardio tape again.  As I was trying some jumping jacks, I had to turn off the tape and stop.  It felt like the port was bouncing up and down inside me.  Very disturbing feeling!  It doesn't hurt constantly, but occassionally if I move a certain way it hurts.  Any ideas?  I am afraid it has come undone or flipped or something.  Of course, I overdramatize too...  HELP!

I am such a bad blogger!

I can't believe that it has been a week since I posted!  Life has taken hold and I have lost time.  Weight loss is good.  I am down 2lbs this week.  I am solidly in a 14.  I have been trying to find pants at the thrift shops, but am not having much luck.  Seems like they have everything EXCEPT a 14.  I did however find 2 khaki pants in 14 short at one shop.  $3 each and I didn't even have to hem!  Of course that isn't going to get me through a week of work, so I continue on my quest.  I just don't want to buy new pants and only get to wear them for a little bit.  I have went from a tight 18W to a 14 in a couple of months.  I hate wearing the bigger clothes because they make me look frumpy now.  Oh well, I may just have a bite the bullet.

I am really enjoying life with the lap band.  Who would have thought that I could share a kids portion with my 22 month old daughter?  The family and I took a nice bike ride this weekend.  I would have never been able to ride around town before.  My butt hurts though, it is the bike that I rode around campus in in college.  Maybe I need a bigger seat?

Getting older

I totally never thought that I would be here.  I had my children never thinking that they would leave me.  I figured that they would always be there no matter what.  My oldest son started  high school today.  I think that I cried more today than I did the day he started kindergarten.  I feel like my days with him are numbered.  Why this is hitting me like this I don't know.  I still see him as that skinny little kid who we never thought would grow into his ears.  He has grown into them nicely and is so much taller than me too!  Not a hard thing to accomplish as I am 5'2".  I feel like I can see the end my duties to him, and I don't like it one bit. 

I have a 1 year old, so my youngness is still upon me, but I feel like I am ancient.  Next comes the driver's license.  I am not sure if I can handle him being in control of anything that goes more than 5mph.  He will get his permit in January.  Why did my mother not explain (or maybe I didn't listen) that it is all over in a blink.  You don't realize when you think that the diapers will never end, that you will wake up and they will be going to prom.  Make the most of every moment, no matter what and treasure each stage in your children's life no matter how annoying it is at the time.  I feel like I have missed out on so much even though I have been there the whole time.  That is my truest wish with the band, I have so much more energy now to be involved with my kids and not worry about being the "fat mom."

On a good note, my husband surprised me at work today with flowers.  He didn't even get me flowers when the kids were born.  I wonder what he has done that I don't know about yet?  They were beautiful though!

A new week.

I truely hate Mondays!  Please excuse my last post full of gramatical nonsense.  I typed it on my phone and it didn't seem to keep formatting.  I didn't realize how bad it looked until this morning.

On to today, I have a busy beginning of the week at work.  They end of the week is somewhat slow.  School starts this week.  I have been having a hard time rapping my head around the fact that I will have a son in high school this year.  He is really excited and is working on joining all kinds of clubs.  He is my more intellectual child.  Am I really this old? 

I am starting to lose my workout mojo.  I don't know what is going on with me.  I almost feel like it isn't worth it.  I know in my heart that it is definately what has gotten me to where I am now, but just can't seem to get into doing it as much as I need to.  I am going to let my tanning membership lapse this month.  Maybe that will give me more time before the baby comes home from daycare.  (My husband takes her and picks her up as daycare is in the town that he works in.)  I LOVE tanning though... It is just 8 miles away, in the university town and move in is this week.  This means that so many people will beat driving who don't know where they are going, causing accidents and such.  That and the tanning salon will be a zoo.  In order to get the appointment time that I prefer, I have to set my alarm on my phone for the time that they open to call as appointments must be made same day!  I guess that I will give a month lax on tanning and see about using that time for workouts and reflect on that in a month.

As for BOOBS, I so wish I was going!  I only live 6 hours from Chicago, but money is really tight this time of year.  I just don't see how I would swing it.  I am afraid that everyone is going to meet, and those who don't go are going to be very left out. :-(  It sucks being poor!

Oh well, no reason to cry over spilt milk.  I am off to spend my day in the land of juvenile mayhem...

Ramblings...

I have continued to stay busy this week with work. I will be glad that school starts next week and the juvenile deliquents will be off the streets! Maybe I can rest for a couple of weeks before they start getting in trouble at school. On the band front, things are going well. I have really good restriction. 3 lbs down this week. I also did measurements again and I am down a total of 28 inches! That is 9 more than when I last checked not that long ago. I have lost 6 inches on my "skin apron" alone! I am really hoping that it continues to shrink. I have finshed school supply shopping for the boys. I am really ready for them to go back to school. They are messing up my house too much. I still have to get one a new bike as his has broken and they both ride their bikes to their respective schools. I truly enjoy living in a town small enough for that to be possible.

Fill casualities...

Check out the bruise left from my fill last week! I know that he had to have hit something the way that the blood squirted out, but that is one NASTY bruise. I have been in training at work this week so I haven't had time to post. I will try to post later tonight and tell ya'll what's been up!

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Gotta help a rockstar out!

Well, I am going to do a different kind of shout out... Judy doesn't need our support to get to her goal... She is past it. She lost 115 pounds and is 5 pounds under her goal. Pretty impressive, huh? Well, She is reaching her 3rd year bandiversary soon and would like a follower for each pound she's lost... a new goal for a new woman, Do you already follow Judy's journey? If not, check it out at http://judifromthismomenton.blogspot.com/2010/08/party-planning.html

Let there be restriction!

I went for my second fill today.  It was very different from my first.  He again had me stand and it hurt this time when he stuck the needle in.  I got .5 cc.  He put in a whole one but backed 1/2 back out after I told him that really slowed things down.  He said that the research says conservative is best.  So I sit with 5 cc.  I noticed on the way home that my water was slower to go down.  Here's to hoping that this will do it.  OK back to my fill story (I must have the most eventful fills... remember the marinade injector?  I said that it hurt this time going in... well when he pulls it out he has the bandaid package in his hand opening it at the same time.  He yanks out the needle and blood starts spewing out of the hole hitting the cabinent.  He puts the bandaid paper of the stream (because they are so absorbant) and tells me to hold it there.  Blood is running down on my pants as I am standing this whole time.  We finally get dressing on it and he nochalantly says "nothing to worry about, the aorta is normally deeper than that needle goes."  WTF why would he say that?  Needless to say, I was ready to leave! 

On another note, I was graced with the great fortune of having two doctor appointments in one day!  So after I left my surgeon, I drove the hour to see my PCP.  I got great news at my PCP.  NO MORE MEDS!  I have officially been taken off my diabetes med, blood pressure med, and cholesterol med.  He said we will do labs in 6 months to check on the cholesterol and if I need something it will be a lot less potent than the Lipitor.  This PCP visit is worth every bit of pain that this surgery caused!

Happy Days! Hot Summer Meltdown came and I KICKED ASS!

I just got my email from Kristen!  All I can say is OMG!  And I was complaining about bandster hell?  WTF?  I guess in my mind I need to stop thinking that I am going to wake up tomorrow and be skinny.  Thank you all for the wonderful comments on the progress pics.  I totally see that I am getting my waist back.  I wish that this spare tire around my hips would go away, but I guess if I go swimming I have a built in intertube. 

I still don't feel too much in the restriction department, but I have been watching my diet really closely and exercising.  I have another appointment with my surgeon tomorrow and I hope to get a little but more in the restriction department so that I don't have to worry so much about what I eat.   

Progress Pics!

Since I am almost 2 months out, I figured it was time for some progress pics.

Wow looking at these side by side... amazing the change in just 2 months!  Can't wait to see the year out ones!

I had to buy....

NEW UNDERWEAR!!!!!!!!!!!   My undies were getting really loose, so I thought that I would go try some and I was wearing a 9, but bought a 7 this time!  I have lost 5 inches in my hip area so this made a big difference.  No more pulling up my drawers when I walk!  Can you tell I am excited?

Meltdown Challenge

I just sent in my final weight picture.  This has been so much fun!  Good luck to all & don't forget to turn in your pictures today.  Here's to hoping I made it in the top 3.  Momma needs some new pants... these are falling off my butt and my secretaries are concerned!