The Road to Success

Ok, so this is a little tough for me to talk about.  I've told my family and a couple of friends, but for some reason I get tongue-tied because I'm a little bit embarassed.  However, success is more likely if you're more open about things and look for friends and family to support your efforts.

I have signed up for a weight loss outpatient program through the local hospital.   I was originally going to start next week, but there was a bump in the road and now I won't be starting until December.  (December!  So close yet so far away.)

How did I come across this?  Well, I have been on blood pressure medication for about six months now, and although I have a family history of blood pressure issues, my weight is a factor.  I've been trying (sometimes half-heartedly) to lose weight on my own for a few years now.  And like many others out there, I do well for a while and then get bored, busy or otherwise unmotivated.  So when I saw a pamphlet at my doctor's office for this, I thought "hmm, this may be just the push I need" and agreed to attend an orientation meeting.

Their program is broken into two categories:  behavioral and surgical.  I wasn't really interested in the surgical track, it really scares me.  And I don't qualify, though I was shocked to find out that I wasn't too far from qualifying BMI-wise.  I decided that the fifteen week program on their behavioral track was for me, and when they called the next day, I scheduled an intake before I could lose my nerve.

The intake was really hard.  Not the weigh-in, or the exam.  The hard part was when the doctor asks "how did you come to gain weight?"  The honest answer?  Being blissfully unaware.  In high school, I was thin.  But upon going to college, it was like a free-for all.  Dessert with dinner?  Sure.  Snack while studying?  Absolutely.  Midnight pizza or a run to Dunkin Donuts?  Bring it on!!  I wish sometimes I could tap my older self  on the shoulder and shriek "What are you doing to yourself!!!  Put down that slice of pizza and take a walk!"  Or discovered knitting sooner, instead of stress-eating.  After college I tried diet pills and although they worked, they made me feel crappy.  And the second you stop taking them, the weight creeps back on slowly while your back is turned and your guard is down.  Add a sedentary job and two children, and it's not tough to see how this happened. 

But I'm not concerned anymore about how it happened.  I want to right a wrong.  I've done myself wrong, and I want to make it up to me.  I want to be healthier for my two boys, I want to be able to run around with them all day and keep up.  I don't want to be the Mama who never goes anywhere because she's embarrassed about how she looks.  I want to make sure I NEVER get diabetes.  (Gestational was enough!)  I want to cut up my Lane Bryant card and be able to shop anywhere I want.  I want choices.  I want it all!  This is my gift to MYself.  In short, I want to "add years to my life, and life to my years." 

So...December may be a ways away but I've already started making changes for the better.  I gave up drinking regular soda two weeks ago and surprisingly, I don't miss it.  I've started taking the stairs more often.  I park the car further away from the store.  And when Will wants a "Lady Gaga Dance Party," I join in, even if I can only do a couple minutes before my legs hurt and I'm breathing hard. 

Why the embarrassment?  At first, I felt a bit like a failure.  Like "look at me, I'm going to the hospital to learn to lose weight because I've failed to do it on my own."  I'm starting to not see it so much that way.  It sounds like a really good program, one that really covers the bases.  I am going to meet with a nutritionist, an exercise physiologist, and a psychologist.  These three aspects...all of them are important in their own way and create "the big picture." 

So, with the support of my friends and family, I am ready for this journey.  I CAN DO THIS!!

Big Brother Duties

Will's not the only one going to school this fall....Hubby is back in school and taking two more classes for his Master's, so two nights a week it's just me and my boys.  For some reason, Hubby seems to get housework done on nights that it's him and the boys, but I haven't mastered that tricky task just yet!

Tonight Will has taken it upon himself to entertain his little brother.  He's been dancing, making faces, yelling peek-a-boo and assigning animal noises to me and Joey in order to keep Sean in stitches.  Sean's loving the attention!  Joey also likes when Will is the ringleader, as Will's heavy-handed with the treats.  Lately he asks to give Joey his cookies "all by himself."  This consists of carrying around a stepstool and climbing up to the dresser in our room to get a canister of dog cookies.  While I was fetching Sean's teething tablets, Will came running and said he "helped" by giving Joey cookies because he deserved them.  That's when I noticed the cookie canister was looking a little light.  I discovered half the canister arranged in circles in my bedroom, with Will working furtively to make them faster before getting caught. 

Where's the camera when you need one?  Will was pretty disappointed when I told him he had to put the cookies back except one.  But I don't think anyone was more disappointed than Good Ol' Joe-Joe. 

School Bells and Toy Story Lunchboxes

I guess it's time....Will is headed to preschool!  We've hemmed and hawed through this decision...this year or next year?  Well, he really needs some socialization with kids his own age.  So after some research, we found a nice school to send him two days per week.  We opted for the full-day program, so Mommy doesn't have to leave work multiple times in a day to ferry the boys back and forth.  (Which makes for a happier Mommy, honestly.) Last week I got him his very own Toy Story lunchbox, and a Toy Story sleeping bag to boot.  He's very excited about these things, and about school in general. 

I just cannot believe it's time for him to go to school.  It seems like yesterday he was a baby:

and now he's not really a toddler anymore, as he approaches four years old.  He is a little boy.

In the end, this is bittersweet:  My "Baby" is growing up.  But think of the new adventures in this chapter of his life, and the stories that he'll have for me every day when I pick him up.  "Mommy, guess what we did in school today?"

Happy Birthday!

My husband is a bit of a "shy" guy who barely notices his birthday.  However, with me being ME, I couldn't let it go by without a blog post dedicated to my wonderful, silly, sweet, Brian, who is such a wonderful husband and father.  And with that....I'll just let the pictures illustrate what I've said.  Happy Birthday, Darling.  :)

With love from Ginny, Will and Sean.

Labor Day, Indeed...

Sigh....the end of Summer is here.  It still, ten-ish years after completing school, feels like September is the true beginning of the year.  And I suppose in a few more years, that will be further cemented with both boys going to school.  (Ack!!!)

So with Brian and I both home today with a grumbly Sean, we're tackling some nagging projects.  Like finally switching Sean into his 6-9 month clothing, and making all the boxes in the nursery go away.  It was starting to look like a warehouse in there!  Brian's taken on the little "patch and paint" jobs around the house.  I know, we're absolutely mesmerizing in our Labor Day partying.

We did spend Saturday and Sunday with Nana and Papa, playing down at the cottage.  Joey was pretty bummed that his "vacation" was over, and he came home with us yesterday after spending a week with them.  Will had a blast, eating roasted marshmallow, making sand mountains complete with leaf "flags" and of course, sleeping in a tent for the first time!  Yep, Will and Daddy shared a tent in the backyard and he absolutely loved it!  Kudos and thanks to Daddy for sleeping out there on some porch cushions and comforting him/finding flashlights and Brown Doggies in the middle of the night.  :)

So it's been a pretty good Holiday weekend! 

Teething Bites. Pun Intended.

Brian pointed out to me last night that Sean is getting his first tooth!

It's kind of been like that scrape you get on your knee that you don't notice at first.  But as soon as you notice it, it starts to hurt.  Sean was pretty happy-go-lucky, until we informed him of his impending tooth.  He's been screaming, crying and carrying on all morning.  Hyland's teething tablets are great, but I think what we need is some tylenol.  Oh, and a margarita for Mommy. 

I hope the lake air at the cottage will chill him out a bit.  Oy!

Wordless Wednesday: Playing Nice