Oh Lap Band and Autism, how are we going to work together?

So, my fun weekend we had planned, didn't quite go as well as I had hoped.  We still had fun, but what was supposed to be a ton of fun had a big, fat snag right in the middle.

My cousin who is a few hours south of us is having a sweet baby girl.  So, this weekend was her baby shower.  So my family, my parents and my aunt went down to her baby shower.  The first snag was the original hotel we booked, well let's just it wasn't quite up to par.  The rooms smelled and not in a good way.  My parents and aunt were sharing a room and their room had a dirty towel in it.  When we opened up the adjoining doors there was dirty sock between the two doors. So, need less to say, we quickly got our money back and left.

We then booked a more expensive hotel (but a lot nicer) and off the boys went to the hotel and we went to the shower.  She got sooooooo many cute baby girl clothes.  ADORABLE!!!!!  This baby is going to be in a sweet little dress every single day :)

We then went to eat at Outback.  Where my adorable, autistic boy decides at this moment to have a meltdown.  Sigh.  I am not a fan of listening to kids scream and yell in restaurants.  And especially when they are my own kids.  So, P took him out of the restaurant and came back in.  Then he proceeded to continue with his meltdown, so I took him out.  Finally, he calms down.  Now, usher in my band issues.  Did I mention I have potato problems?  Yeah, some lap band people can't do beef, some can't do chicken.  Apparently, I can't do potatoes.  I made the mistake of having a tiny section of the cheese fries (yes, I know they aren't on my "diet", but let me tell you the portion I had wasn't not nearly CLOSE to what I would have had pre-surgery).  My band was quite unhappy.  Not stuck per se, but close.  Had to sit for a bit and wait for it to move.  Dinner was good.  My husband shared his meal with me.  Had 2 oz. of a steak and some broccoli.

Ok, so the deal I made with L is that if he calmed down we could go back to the hotel and swim.  We get back to the hotel to find out that some one has had "an accident" by the pool or in the pool, whatever.  But the manager was on the way.  They cleaned it, disinfected it and took care of it.  We got it in.  Ok, I should have known better because I am a HUGE germ-a-phob, yep, BIGGEST snag (understatement of the year) because they didn't clean good enough!!!  I'm going to leave it with that!!!  Got everyone out of the pool where my son is now so unhappy he picks up the first thing he finds, which is our epi-pen bag, and tosses it into the disgusting pool.  Sigh.

So, we go upstairs to our room where everyone (except my husband who never got in the pool) gets a scrub down in the shower.  Then I sent my husband out for Clorex wipes to wipe down the hotel bathroom (I told you I had germ issues).

Are you laughing or feeling bad for me at this point???

The next day we meet my family for breakfast.  Breakfast is like the easiest band food at a restaurant for me.  Scrambled eggs, I usually can't go wrong.  But, I added mushrooms (which I do often) and ate a piece of bacon (first time since surgery) and my band was NOT happy with me at all.  Thought for sure I was going to have a PB episode again.  But, we managed to work it out and I just relaxed as much as possible.  Listened to my band.  Stopped eating, and just waited.  And waited.  And waited.  I finally got relief after we left.  A ton of gurgling while the food made it's way thru the band.

My NSV for the weekend.  We stopped at an outlet mall and my husband bought me a workout outfit.  It is 2 sizes smaller than what I normally would buy!!

Sadly, I'm an addict....

....to the scale!!

I weigh myself every stinkin' day!  I tell myself I won't but I do!

This morning, I had a very pleasant surprise!  I am officially down 57 lbs!!  I am so stinkin' excited.  It's nice to see the scale move in the negative position.  :)

Also, I'd like to mention, my BMI has moved down over 10 points!!  WOW!!

I've been trying so hard to keep track of everything I put in my mouth and staying within my ranges.  My biggest problem is carbs.  Always carbs and with me have PCOS, I know that is a big problem.

But, I must be doing something right.  I do have an appointment next week with the NP and nutritionist.  I'm not sure if a fill is in order or not.  I am thinking I need to talk to the nutritionist first to see if I am eating enough.  THEN see if I should be having a fill.  I am following the first suggested menu plan she gave me (sorta) and it's pretty small and I'm not really feeling "full" so if that's the case, then I would need the fill, but if they are going to tweak the menu, then I probably wouldn't need the fill.  I don't know "how full" I should feel, ya know??  Still struggling with not getting in enough calories.

We have some family fun in store for us this weekend I can't wait to tell you about, but it'll have to wait until after this weekend!!  He he he!!  Anyone else besides my lovely British friend Sarah and I excited about the Olympics??  I'm DVR'ing the opening ceremonies.  They are broadcasting so late over here and I know that we won't be able to stay up for the whole thing and well, the US is towards the end of the line so, we gotta keep the whole thing!!  Go Team USA (sorry Sarah ;)

Does this sound like a good portion?

2 oz. of shredded chicken (weighed on a digital scale)
1 oz. of bell pepper (weighed on a digital scale)
1 tortilla
1/4 cup 2% milk mild cheddar cheese
2 tbsp. reduced fat sour cream


I made crock pot fajitas today (sooooooo good by the way) and this is what I put together. I'm full. I'm losing weight well, I think. I was losing it very fast for a while, now I'm at the 2 lb. a week thing. I just wanted to check to see if I was spot on portion size and well other than my clinic you are my only band friends.

ANXIOUS!!

M comes home from camp today!!

M and I are polar opposites.  She is quite like her dad.  She is quiet and reserved.  She likes sci-fi and super heroes.  I suspect if we allowed her to, she'd probably spend a lot of time with her dad watching Dr. Who, but alas, she's too young still :) 

By the way, a bit off topic, how is everyone liking the new Dr.?  We here in America are probably getting the show much later than those in the UK, but my husband does not care for the newest Dr.  Liked the previous one much more.  Ok, back on topic. 

She does like girly things too.  Jewelry and clothes.  But, in terms of being a social butterfly, well, no....she likes to keep close to home.  Has a few people in her life she really enjoys spending time with, hates the telephone and anything to do with it!

Me, I cannot stand sci-fi or super heroes, I am not a big fan of jewelry, but like clothes (oh man I wish I could spend some money right now, clothes are starting to get big and hang!!).  I am a TOTAL social butterfly.  Where there are people, there I am.  The more friends, the happier I am.  Love the phone, love to text.

OPPOSITES!!!  So, as a mama I worry about her in social situations.  How is she doing, how is she handling it without me guiding her, etc....now mind you, she's getting to an age where she is old enough to handle herself, but she is still a bit on the young side and still needs some guidance.

So, I sit here today in total anxiety-ridden mind wondering how her week went!!  I shall know soon enough!!!

I hope she had a fabulous week filled with fun, giggling, swimming, activities, snacks and learning about God!  I had great experiences at a camp very similar to this one and remember them to this day.

My tooth is well, it's ok.  Not horrible, not 100%.  I need to make an appointment to get a cap or crown or whatever from my regular dentist.  Band wise, this morning at my scale, I'm down 54.2!!

Did you do anything for yourself when you reached certain goals?  I have someone on Lap Band Talk who buys herself a Pandora bead every 10 lbs.  I have not done anything to treat myself.  I don't know if I am self loathing but I don't know if I "deserve" anything.  Thoughts???

Don't Drink Water.....

....before having a root canal!!!!

Ugh!

I have been having an awful time getting in my 64 oz. since my surgery, so one my new little tricks is anytime I'm getting out and about, grab a couple bottles of water and down them while in the car.

Such a bad idea yesterday.

I had to go 3 times before they even started and once when they were done. It was 2 hours of being there.

Ok, I won't even tell you the fun time going on in my mouth right now. Let's just say I think that I'll be on full liquids for a bit but one up side is that I have already noticed the cold sensitivity is gone!

Since I'm a stay at home mom, I have the luxury of being able to sleep in until my kids get up (I know rough life, right?). Since M is still at camp and L is still asleep, the only reason I'm up right now is because I had to get up to take some pain meds. So, I'm going to wait for those to kick in and maybe sleep a bit longer before seeing what the boy and I can "gently" get into today - ouch :(

Have a good one cyber peeps!!

Rainy Wednesday

It's been a while, HI EVERYONE!!  I've been a bit neglectful in my blogging for a couple of reasons and here's why.

First, it's been a bit busy around here!  M is at camp this week and well, a lot goes into getting a kid ready for camp.  You have to get all the stuff there is for camp, plus help the kid pack for camp, which includes getting all the laundry done.  So, this weekend was a process of all that.  Plus,a few of us from church, followed the church bus up to camp so that I could what this particular camp looked like (it was her first time at this camp) and so I could help her get settled.  We were gone all day Monday!!  Tuesday we were invited to swim with friends, which was great.  And today, is well, today :)

Secondly, and probably the biggest reason, is for band reasons.  I have been doing pretty decently eating wise.  Not perfect by any means.  But, I haven't seen the scale move in a while.  And well, I couldn't figure out why.  Am I in starvation mode because I haven't been getting enough calories, is my body trying to take a break or catch up from losing so much so fast?  I didn't know.  Well, I am happy to report that I have finally seen some new numbers this week.  Whew.  So, I am back on track!  I do have a nutritionist appointment that will coincide with my NP appointment next week.  But as of this morning, 52.4 and counting!!  Can I get a cyber Woo Hoo???

Let's see what else is going on?  Oh yes, today is my root canal.  Had I been going on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday of last week, I might actually be looking forward to it.  I was in so much pain last week.  The last few days I have been feeling better.  The pain is down to a dull ache with cold sensitivity.  But, I really don't care to have this feeling forever, so off I go.

Lastly, I am back on Facebook.  Back in February I was praying about somethings in my life that were really bothering me and I found that when the Lord was talking to me He was reminding me that I was spending much, MUCH too much time on Facebook.  Also, that I was missing out on my friendships because of Facebook.  Yes, it helps bring some people closer together, but I was missing something with it.  So, I felt after having the conversations with God, that He was saying to take a break off it.  For me this was really hard.  I am a very social person.  So, to get off of something that makes you even more social has been hard.  I have snuck peaks at my husband's, but haven't used mine in months.  This week, I reactivated it, cleaned up my friends list a little.  Ya know how that goes, right?

Now I'm just sitting her in the dark, waiting for L to wake up and for the thunderstorms to start.  Hoping my M is doing well at camp, glad for P that it will be a lot cooler for him at work today and VERY happy to see that new number on the scale this morning!

My Husband (I know a second post)

I wanted to do this second post because I wanted to tell you about my husband and I.  19 years ago today we became boyfriend and girlfriend.  He he!!  He was 16 and I was 17. 

I had just graduated from high school a month before and he still had a year to go.  We were working in the same restaurant.  I thought he would be a good fit for my best friend, but he ended up being a good fit for me.  I had dated quite a bit in high school.  He had only been on one date ever!!  I'm outgoing, loud and sometime obnoixious.  He's an introvert, quiet and very smart!  Can we say polar opposites?

Who knew that those two kids would 4 years later get married and 3 years after that have a baby?  We were soooooo young!!!  I can't even believe how young we were.  But, I'm so happy with this man!  He is an awesome guy!  So funny (don't tell him I said that), smart and handsome!!!  We get on so well!  We are a great compliment to each other.  Nerds together ;)

I'm grateful for those teenagers who "got it" so long ago that they could have fun and get to know each other so well even as kids, because if they hadn't, I may have not found the man of my dreams ;)

Love you P!

To Blog or Not To Blog...

.....that is today's question.

I'm afraid if I get to into blogging today it'll be another "pity party" post.

Sigh.

I won't get into all my stress.  Instead what I am going to do is remember that God has got my back.  No matter come what may.  I have got to remember that!!!!!!!!!!!!

Onto band news....really, the same stinking 2 lbs. up and down, up and down.  I'm stuck on the same stinkin' 2 lbs.  Seriously.....

Does anyone have Zumba for Wii?

M is going to camp on Monday.  I have to get the laundry done so we can get packing.

L is going to be lost without M in the house all next week.

P does not have to work this weekend!  First one in a LONG time!!  Bad for money, woo hoo for some family time.

I'm going out with my lifelong girlfriends tonight to celebrate one of their birthday's!  Excited for that!  And one of their friend's is coming along and she had the sleeve done, so I am interested to compare some notes with her.

It's Friday.  There ya go!

Does misery love company?

My dental work did not go as planned.

That being said I ended up back at the dentist yesterday. He sanded down the high spot on the tooth and I was told that could solve the problem. He told me to take an anti-immflamitory for 3 days and if that doesn't make it feel better then go see the endodontist and have a root canal.

Here's the problem. 3 days of the meds actually puts me at Saturday morning. I doubt he does root canals on Saturday. And I can't go on Monday because I have to take M to camp. So basically I'm stuck with tooth pain for almost a week.

Sorry to complain to you all.

Ugh. So, how are you feeling today?

Stay on Track

My new mantra!!!

I need to break old bad habits and create new healthy ones. My worst habit, watching tv at night and snacking. It's a work in progress. I will say last night I was watching tv and my snack of choice was soooooo much better. Watermelon (2 oz.) and 2 string cheese.

Next bad habit, no exercise. Yes I joined the gym, but have only been twice. On nights when I simply can't get over there, we are doing Wii Fit, I've decided. I even thought about buying the Zumba for the Wii. Something to at least get me moving for a half an hour a day at least. My kids thought it was great yesterday. We made it fun. The Wii Fit became a game (duh, it's a video game). We all took turns playing. I tried to do only aerobics so I would get my heartrate up while moving. My daughter ended up doing about a half an hour of working out too.

Last bad habit, not enough water. In my pre-op I had bought this cup with a straw and it was about 20 oz. so it was pretty easy to drink 3 a day. I had no issues in pre-op getting my water in. Now, I don't think I've done it once :( Bad habit. My office says no-no to straws.

On another note, I had some dental work done yesterday and am not feeling well as a result. I don't think he sanded the filling down enough, my bite seems off and I am super sore (he told me I would be). It doesn't help that for some reason a headache has decided to join the party. One thing about having the band that I didn't really notice until recently, my mini-migraines I suffer (yep, that's what my doctors call it, they are DAILY, fun right?) have been controlled by meds but a few sneak in, but since losing weight I've been feeling better. I had forgotten what this felt like. Yuck....

I made pulled pork in the crockpot yesterday. I think I cooked it too long. It was a bit dry, but still tasted good. Ate 2 oz. with some BBQ sauce, no bun and 2 oz. of squash for dinner (how does my portion sound to you veterans?).

Well, we have an orthodontist appointment for M today...wonder what color rubber bands she's going to pick this time? Last time 6 weeks ago she picked red, white and blue in anticipation of the Fourth of July. She likes to color coordinate her braces with holidays. Isn't she awesome?!

What are you up to today?

Appointment

So, I didn't get into any trouble ;) In fact, my NP is quite happy with my progress. Not happy with my water in take, so I have to do better there. I also need to be more consistent with my exercise.

But other than that I'm doing well. I'm still not getting enough calories, so she is having me see the nutritionist when I come in, in 2 weeks. She said, maybe for some reason she has me on a reduced calorie for the first 6 months. She didn't know. So I followed the original plan today. Slight change (2 oz of protein with dinner instead of 1 oz and 2 oz of veggies instead of 1 oz of fruit and 1 oz of veggies....also I had 2 oz of fruit at lunch instead of 1 oz of fruit and 1 oz of veggies).

Good thing is, I'm easily getting my protein in.

Ok, onto family stuff. M went with my sister-in-law and my niece & nephew to visit my father-in-law and mother-in-law in a different part of the state over the weekend. There they went to a demolition derby, on a train ride, went swimming, had s'mores and what I'm sure was a big highlight for my girl, had peanut butter. With L having major food allergies and our house being a peanut free house, any chance she gets, she takes it! She loved spending time with the family!

L has been particularly good! God is giving me wisdom where this little boy is concerned. We are pushing his boundaries food-wise and he is doing quite well. We had steak off the grill for the second time since starting the "you are eating what we are eating" experiment and although it took quite a while, it didn't take quite as much prompting to remind him to eat as it did last time. Nor was there as much arguing. Hardly any in fact. We have cut tv watching down for both kids dramatically and that has made huge differences in his behavior! I just want to give the Lord all the credit for giving me some wisdom where raising these kids are concerned! It's a tough road sometimes!

Ok, well, I'm going to go catch up on Masterchef....go Christine (isn't she awesome?)!

Night everyone.....

P.S. We did the stairs and L said, he thinks that they need to put in an elevator right here (as he pointed to the stairwell).

Nervous

Ugh.

I am going to the NP this morning. Just to check in. Ohhhh. I just remembered, gotta take the stairs!

I will have the kids in tow, that oughta be fun (insert sarcasm here)!

I have no idea why I'm nervous, I know I've lost a good amount of weight since my last visit 3 weeks ago, but I am quite sure it's the fact that I have been fluctuating the same stinking 2 lbs. all week long and I know what I've been doing wrong.

Do you get nervous that you are going to get "called out" for the wrong things you are doing?

Oh and by the way, did I ever tell you I got an answer about my calories? It only took like a week to get back to me (grrrrr). The nutriontist I normally speak to is on vacation. So the other one sent me a more updated suggested menu. She said the one I have is for gastric bypass patients. Huh? Why in the world would I have that? Anyway, I guess once she gets back she'll call me. In the meantime I guess I'll do my best and keep trucking along!

I'm probably going to do anothe post after my NP appointment so I'll talk to y'all later!

Milestone

I have reached a HUGE milestone in my journey. 50 POUNDS!!!!

I almost can't believe it. In one sense it came pretty quick but in another, I still know I have so far still to go so for me it doesn't feel like that big of deal.

I did, finally, hear from a nutritionist, just not mine. She gave me a completely different menu plan. Way more of a chance to get my calories in!nervous at how my weight will fluctuate over the next couple of weeks because of it.

My daughter is with my in-laws taking a little mini trip this weekend, so it's just L and I and well, after making some horrible behavior choices, no electronics for him today. No tv, no video games, no borrowing phones or iPad. I can hear him and his imagination doing just fine in the other room. He is so well behaved WITHOUT electronics!

Stay cool peeps, it's a hot one!

What are you doing today?

Well, it's a very stormy day where we are, very stormy!! It started at 6 am and has stopped a bit here and there, but a lot of thunder and lightening has been going on today. 

My day started at 6 am (unheard of at our house in the summer) when I heard something or someone in our house!  Kind of freaked me out.  Then I heard the pitter patter of little feet come in my bedroom along with the 6 year old crawling into my bed!  Guess the storm must of woke him up too.

So, we kind of hung out a little this morning, just me and L.  I got a few more winks while he played with the iPad.  I had a quick dream where I had 3 kids, M was still my oldest and two more kids and L was visiting one of my kids but was someone else's at church.  In my dream, he called "his mom" on the phone.  I woke up very upset at the idea of this precious little boy not being mine.  I think the Lord was gently reminding me how awesome it is to be the mom of such great kids!

Speaking of great kids, we spent yesterday just me and my kids, at the wave pool!!!!!  It was hot!  The pool was cool enough!  I got a ton of exercise in the water with the two of them making sure no one went under (FYI, L wears a life jacket still!!!!).  And boy, am I feeling it today!  We all have a little pink to show it and fatigue to match.  Good thing it's a rainy day to catch up, huh?

In Band news, I'm doing pretty well.  My lunch tried to PB on me, but I just stayed relaxed and everything stayed down.  I think I am at a good restriction, I just ate too quickly.  Gotta stop doing that.  When do I have to stop using the excuse this is still new???

Also, gotta still up my calories!!  Close on the protein, still a bit too high on the carbs....too low on the calories.  I'm going to get this!!!! 

Lastly, in 0.2 lbs. I will be officially at 50 lbs.  I cannot believe it.  I lost 25 in pre-op and then it will be another 25 in post-op (my surgery was 6 weeks ago Monday).  When I see that on the screen, in black and white, I get excited.  It puts it in perspective!  I am doing this people!!!!

Oh wait, I guess that wasn't last, new NSV, my bathing suit from last year that was too tight.....too loose!