Monday, April 22, 2013

The Future

So last week was a bit of a hectic week, and a weekend to start our super busy weekends!. We got some fantastic news on Friday. We are pre-approved for a Mortgage so as soon as we can get a down payment gathered up we'll be purchasing our first house. Hopefully it will be sometime next year. We're looking at getting a house around 150-160 so we'll need to get 5% of that. We are having a wedding reception June 1st and all that money will be locked into our savings account to get that built up ASAP! But great news I have fantastic credit! I will be going to the Chrysler dealership once I get my first pay and getting a new 2013 Dodge Journey.. I think.. We're trying to decide between a lovely spacious Dodge Journey or a Smaller compact Honda Fit.. Which will be more spacious then my current 2 door sun fire, but not as grand as a Journey. The price tag for the Fit is nicer as well it's nicer on gas. However with a baby and a stroller and shopping and a dog in the future.. a Journey seems slightly more appealing. (PS don't tell the hubby but I like the "controls" of the Journey better. The pretty light up screen, the dual climate control, the touch screen control.. all so "techy" and modern) He claims that's not a reason to get the Journey. However it seemed like a perfectly find reason when I was trying to decide between a SUV and a van.. I am going to take the Fit for a test drive and see how much I like it.
Hmm what else has happened this week/weekend. I know there was a lot. Oh yes... Is there any Son's of Anarchy fans out there?!?! (I'm not a fan I've only ever watched 1 episode and bits and pieces here and there however hubby is a HUGE fan) Jon is a member of the CAV bike gang. Basically it's civilians who help integrate Veterans back into normal life once they are home from war. Anyways Opie, from SOA is going to be in Moncton for 2 nights hosting a meet and greet dinner. Tickets are like 125$.. a bit insane if you ask me. Anyways our reception is June 1st and Opie will be here May 31st and June 1st. The guys from the CAV bike gang have given us a wedding present of a night out together to go to this dinner. With baby sitting services if needed! Jon is super excited to meet Opie. I'm super excited for a date night! Since having Alexander we've only been out together for an hour here and there without the baby. It was more when we were in Punta Cana as his parents were there and would look after the little guy while we went to eat or went to the beach and it was his nap time. But I was also an emotional post partum wreck!
So yeah we had a big week! I fear however my exercise/diet did not fair out so well and I will not be making it to my goal of getting into the 230's by tomorrow. Hopefully next week. With a little over a month to my Amherst wedding reception I'd like to drop 10 lbs. I know its entirely possible I just gotta put in the effort!
We also went to Jon's parents this weekend and they have carpeted stairs.  Alexander was chasing his cousin around the house and discovered said stairs.. and this is what happened: Discovery of steps. Needless to say I was shocked as he has never been on stairs before. Such a smart little man.
So as Jon says everything is coming up Dickinson! Here's to a fantastic week ahead. I know the next couple of months are going to be full of excitement!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

As predicted

As predicted I stayed the same in my weight this week. 243.2. I guess it's better then going up right? I did not get much exercise last week so I was not expecting much. I believe tomorrow I shall try to embark on Jillian Michael's dvd to see if I can do it how much weight it will help me lose in a week!
Yesterday was baby play date. Once upon a time baby play dates were like this :
Now we have a few less babies and its more like this:

Sheer chaos! it's so hard to get them all lined up now to get pictures. But they are even more adorable now playing!
Alexander has been cutting his first tooth so last night was rough. He went down at 8 and was up at 2:30 and again at 5:30. When he got up at 5:30 he was awake for an hour! I had to take him into our bed for a bit to get him to go down to sleep. Even then he was only down til 8 :( but we had a good day he was in a fantastic mood all day. He had a good 2 hour nap this morning (mommy did too) then we went shopping and for a walk to the park. It was his first time at the park. They have an awesome baby swing there. There was a chilly wind blowing so we only stayed for 10 minutes but we did capture it on video for his dad and grandparents to see. Alexander on the swing for the first time.
I am a firm believe in the power of positive thinking. However when your exhausted 99% of the time.. being a positive thinker is hard work. But my goal for the next week is to use positivity and look on the great side of things and see how much weight I can lose and what positive forces I can bring into my reality. My goal will be a lofty one. I'd like to get out of the 240's and into the 230's so My goal will be to lose at least 3.3 lbs! I KNOW it's possible and I can definitely do it!
A lot of my friends had a very big week last week. Two of them had babies, a little boy and a little girl and another couple of friends got married. Busy new beginnings all around! There has been soooo many babies this past year and a half. It's kinda insane. I'm sure we're up into the 40's with all the babies we know that have been born since January 2012.
I'm not a huge fan of the terrible stuff in the news, mass murders, bombings, threats, kidnappings and a number of other horrible stuff that goes on around the world every day. I often wish they had a news channel that would only report the good in the world. However I will say my heart goes out to all the people in Boston yesterday. It was a horrible event and I hope with all my heart those victims can heal quickly from what they witnessed and lived through.

Friday, April 12, 2013

It's friday all ready!!

Ok so where did the week go. I find the weeks I get paid are insanely busy going everywhere doing every thing weeks. I have groceries, and errands, and play dates and busy busy busy days!
Not a ton of stuff has happened this week. I got my hair cut, I got my taxes done. (YAY for refunds) I did my weigh in on Tuesday  morning, sorry for not posting the results, I just got busy.
So here are the results:

Down 2 lbs from last week so YAY!! I'm happy with that. I've been reading Jillian Michaels Slim for Life. And I gotta say.. she's packed a ton of information in there.. a TON!! Like I'm going to have to read it 2-3 times to get it all and understand it all. I didn't get much exercise this week. Zumba on sunday, Monday a short 30 minute walk but today I got out for a nice hour and a half long walk! It was great, except it messed my boy up for his sleep. I'm hoping to either be the same weight or 1 lb less as I also bought a small container of nutella this week. First ever and last.. to addictive!
One of my favorite pictures from this week is this:
Our sleeping angel, so peaceful so amazing.
I had two friends give birth yesterday (Thursday) the world welcomed a new little boy and a new little girl. I just wish I was home on PEI to meet them! I'll be going to the island the end of April however it will be the opposite end. My cousin is getting married and we are going over for the day to the wedding.
Not much else happened this week.... Sorry its been boring. We are looking into getting a new vehicle. I will be waiting until I have a pay stub from work though. We were going to wait until the end of June when my current inspection ran out however we decided to try and get a new one once I have a pay stub. What we will get I'm not sure. I'd love the new 2013 Dodge Journey, and it is in my price range, however not sure if we can get the financing for it so we'll just wait and see.
I also got my hair cut today. I wanted my long side bang GONE! I am unsure what color I am going to go with.. I just know I wanted it cut.. so at the moment I have brown, red, blonde hair.. Yeah I need to decide on a color soon!

Suggestions on what color I should go? I was thinking a mocha brown.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

My heart broke a little

I got word today that my step nephew has passed away. They don't know how, just that there possibly may have been some internal bleeding. He was in his early 20's. He was working out west and my brother in law spoke to him every couple of weeks. With a child of my own I can not imagine the pain. I never want to experience that. We have had a lot of deaths in our family in the past 5 years. Most of them elderly members. The one that hurt the most was my best friend who had 2 young boys. She passed of cancer. The ones that shock your emotions so strongly are those who are so sudden. My heart breaks for my brother in law. He loves all his children so much. They are his life. I got home and held Alexander closer and watched as he slept on my chest refusing to put him in his crib for his nap even though he would have napped better there.
Please hold your children and loved ones closer today.

Temptations and baby belly buttons.

So far operation lose weight is going ok. There is lots of times I am tempted to eat junk, and want to just pig out on anything, however I know it's best for me not to. I have been getting exercise in. I've been going to the indoor track and walking there as long as Alexander will let me. Yesterday he got fussy after 30 minutes, which cut my plans short, then we came home and he slept for 3 hours. :S
I really really wanna start doing my Jillian Michaels DVD's again however my knees have very different plans on that. They hurt after an hour + walk, and they hurt for hours. So I have to figure out what exercises I can do that will help strengthen them. My diet has been good aside from wanting to eat junk, I actually do not. I weighed myself this morning but I'm not going to say what it was until Tuesday. Sometimes when I weigh myself on the weekends I actually weigh less then I do at the beginning of the week. So I don't want to share until I know it's going to stay there. I hate weight fluctuations! 
It's going to be pretty crappy weather this weekend so not much will be happening, perhaps some house cleaning. Hopefully some house cleaning. I have Zumba tomorrow night. I can't wait until the weather forecast doesn't include snow. It's April, time for spring to happen and be done of this silly snow business. I could totally be a snow bird.
In other news our Amherst wedding reception is in 2 months. Yes we are already married, but we went away to get married and Jon's mom wanted to have the reception in June. Since she is the one putting it on, we couldn't really argue the fact. She has rented a hall with a DJ and a caterer. I am excited to do the husband and wife dance! I'm on this dilemma however whether to get a block of room set aside for out of town guests or just not. Apparently there is something big happening in Amherst that weekend and a lot of the hotels are getting all booked up. Like the hotel by Jon's parents place which usually has 1 maybe 2 cars at it, has 8 rooms left! We haven't sent out the invites yet either so I'm not sure how many from Moncton will be going. I also don't know if we get charged if we set aside a block and they don't get used. I  have to wait for Jon's mom to get back then we'll do the wording and the info and send them out! Our wedding has lasted a VERY long time. Wedding in November, PEI reception in January and Amherst/Moncton reception in June!
The other thing about having it June 1st its a super busy day. It's the day of Ride for Dad, a prostate cancer fundraiser put on by the CAV which Jon is apart of. There is a large baby consignment sale and apparently there is an actor from SOA coming to Moncton. However I don't think any of our friends/family is large enough fans to spend 125$ to go see him at a dinner. I had wanted to go to the sale however I will probably need to be in Amherst to help decorate the hall. I'm excited to wear my dress again though! Then it will be going up for sale. I really don't need to keep it. Yes its beautiful but I really do not need it taking up room in our house. Plus really when will I wear it again.
 
Baby belly button pictures. How cute are these?!?!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Huge dose of reality.

So it's been a busy and emotional few days. I got a call from my neurologist on Tuesday saying that it's slightly possible I'm coming out of remission from my disorder. He's not sure why the symptoms are reappearing now after being dormant for so many years. He suspects its due to being pregnant, delivering Alexander, nursing for 8 months + and gaining weight. Our first plan of action is to attempt to lose weight. I have 2 months to try to get some weight off, if it doesn't work or if I start to get worse I have to start my treatment of IVIG again. If I do it will be a weekly thing for a few months then slowly tapering from there. My treatments take about 4 hours. I would need to take Alexander with me and there is a good chance after a few weeks of treatments my veins would blow again requiring another portacath. If I have to get another portacath that's a surgery. There is a few risks with portacath surgery including infection in the port itself (which is very bad.. and potentially deadly) and possibility of puncturing a lung. I have had 3 of them. One was not in the right place, the 2nd got infected and required emergency surgery (like within 48 hours of finding out it was infected.. if I had waited 4 days.. I probably wouldn't be here) and the 3rd got blocked. I do not want to go under the knife again. I do not want to risk the dr's puncturing my lung and leaving Alexander and Jon. I do not want another person raising my child and having him call someone else Mommy. I am his mommy. This is now very real for me.
I know the risks are rare however they are there. I am now a wife and a mother. I need to be around. Losing weight is now my number one priority.
So here is my weigh in for this Tuesday:
Its only 1 lb but I'll take it!
One of the hardest things is trying to walk in the cold with an infant. There is still really cold days! I found an indoor track that's free (YAY!!) to walk at. So we have been doing that. Alexander enjoys it.
 
Yup that's his jammies. We went with a friend to get her wedding dress fitted and just woke up before we had to be there so we went in our jammies since it takes about 10 minutes to get him changed since he's so squirmy now. It's quite funny us being there as the track is mostly walked by older ppl as it's a little out of town and not near many peoples work. The older (60-70 yrs young) pass us. Drop foot is not fun to try to walk with. So I pull to the inside lane, where I'm reminded 4 times in 100m's that I'm slow:
 
Yup that's a turtle.. But hey at least I'm out and doing it. That's what really counts right!
I also submitted my return to work date. It's official on May 6th I'll be returning to work. I have very mixed feelings about it. I will be leaving my son at 4:30 every day. I know I'll be leaving him with his dad and the adult conversation will be a refreshing break. But I won't get bed time snuggles. I won't get kisses good night. But I will get morning snuggles and cuddles and I will get to play all day with him. I will also get a new car! Not until the end of June but hey I'll still get a new car! I have to give up the van next Wednesday. It will be a sad day for sure.


Monday, April 1, 2013

Maple cream!

So yesterday Jon and I went to the sugar camp. It was great the weather was nice and it wasn't to busy. We were expecting it to be insane. I love going to the sugar camp. We only bought some maple cream as we already have to large bottles of maple syrup from Jon's uncle. He taps his maple trees on the lot and makes his own maple syrup. We did give Alexander a little taste of the maple taffy. I figure it's an all natural thing and its better then giving him chocolate. Plus we just tapped the taffy to his lips so its not like we gave him a ton. He also got the maple taffy stick after we had cleaned it off. I think he just liked chewing on the stick.



Today I decided to take one of the bottles and boil it off to maple cream. It is awesome. You boil the syrup to 240 degrees. Then put it in a cold bath.
 
Then you stir it.. and stir and stir and stir:
 
 
Eventually it turns into this:

 
 
It did turn out kind of softer then what we wanted so next time I'd boil it for about 5-10 minutes after we hit the temperature to boil off more of the water but it is super yummy!
 
After the sugar camp last night I went to my Zumba class. It was a toning class. I rocked the class out cause at the end I was drenched in sweat! Totally worth it though. When I come back from class I feel so inspired to work out regularly and eat healthy. I really need to force myself to be more active and force myself out side of my current comfort zone. I'm hoping we'll have some sunny days this week for me to get out and walk with Alexander outside. It's so great for him to be in the fresh air and for his mommy to get in exercise!
 
I have a wedding reception that I need to fit into my wedding dress for June 1st. I was about 10 lbs lighter in November :S damn weight. So I have made a decision to work toward a 20 lb weight goal by the end of summer. Anything above that is gravy I'll be ecstatic if I can drop the 20 lbs by August 31st. It's really important for me to lose the weight a healthy way so that I will keep it off. I can lose it but its important for me to lose it and keep it off. My ultimate goal is 70 lbs but I'll start off in slow increments. 
 
Have you ever had maple cream? Do you want maple cream now?