Better Mom

Losing weight feels like a job! So for those of you doing this journey and working full time, part-time and/or working as a full time mom or a combo of any I applaud you. Whew!

But, I will tell you it has given me more energy. WAY more energy! Which means I feel like a better mom to my kids. M is a great girl. She is a tween. She is stuck between knowing everything and knowing nothing, so she still looks to me for a lot of guidance but I get the eye rolls and the "Mom, you are embarrassing me" every once in a while. L is just out of kindergarten and as a special needs child a lot of attention (both good and bad) gets drawn to him often.

This summer I was determined to get out more. Have them read more. Keep the house better. Spend time better (notice I didn't say more). Watch less tv.

So far, we are accomplishing what I set out to do.

I also have goals for our sweet ASD son.

Learn to buckle your own seatbelt because you are behind in doing this. Check!

Watch less tv. Working on it!

Try new foods. My son is a PICKY eater! He eats: Sunbutter & jelly, chicken nuggets, pancakes, waffles, fish, grilled cheese and cereal. That's about it. This summer I am determined not to make him anything special or different for dinner. So, what we eats. He eats. It's a struggle. Sometimes a fight. But, he's doing it and he's finding new things he likes.

My kids are both reading almost everyday. School just got out 2 weeks ago and my daughter already finished one book and we just started reading!

We are getting outside more! We bought one of those pools with the rings on top. 39" pools. My kids love swimming!

I feel like a better mom. I feel more accomplished.

Can't wait to figure out this nutrition thing ;)

Fireworks tonight with good friends, excited for that!

Happy Saturday!

To My Blog Followers

I feel honored that you are following my story!

I get sooo excited to see when someone leave me comments!!!

I want to make sure that if you are a blogger as well, I am following you! So, if you get a chance to stop by and leave a comment, don't forget to let me know about your blog ;)

Today is a hot one here!!! We are enjoying the air conditioning.

Yesterday was a CRAZY band day as you can tell from my two previous posts.

First my "I don't know what I am doing" post and then my "I threw up on Applebee's sidewalk" post. But, what I didn't tell you is I also joined a gym, ya know the I pick things up and put them down one. It's really convenient hours-wise, plus they really gave me the feel that they are a no judgment zone. My plan is to go and just walk the treadmill right now until I feel really recovered from the surgery and then go from there!!

I did my first 40 minutes yesterday and plan on going again today! I hope I keep up with the motivation!!!!

Oh and you know how I told you I sent my nutritionist a note on questions, she's on vacation for a while!!!! Ugh! So my NP (yes, I said NP then I thought she was a PA now I know she's an NP.....I swear I am much brighter than I seem on this blog) told me to tell my questions to her and she would do the best she could answering them.

Stay cool everyone!!

Don't forget to send me a comment on what your blog is like!!! Let's get to know each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Funny Thing Happened to Me on the Way Out of Applebee's

I threw up on the sidewalk!!!

I am sure it was the combo of eating too quickly and a little too dry chicken.

Something got stuck, I walked around for a bit and then continued to eat and then I got REALLY stuck!!!

I immediately got up and walked out of the restaurant (took a couple of drinks of my daughter's lemonade to see if it would help, made it feel worse) and just tried to burp or something to get relief. Nothing. Finally a burp I thought.

Nope.

Half my dinner. How embarrassing.

I went back in and washed my hands and found the manager and explained my predicament. I asked for a couple of glasses of water to clean up the sidewalk and he graciously said he would take care of it.

Ugh. But, I will tell you I immediately felt better and I was fearing that first time. It's now over.

Whew.

Had to do it......

I had to do it....

I did....

I was doing so well too.

I had to email my nutritionist.

It felt like defeat.

I felt like I didn't know what I was doing.

I was doing so well on each stage. That was until I got to real food.

Here is the email I sent to her...

Hey Nutrionist (no, I didn't really say that, I called her by her name),
Ok, I need some help. I'm sad to have to admit it. I was on track and doing really well on the full liquid, pureed and soft stages but now that I am on the real food track since last Friday (yes I realize it's only been 4 days), I feel a little lost and I don't want to get too lost too early in the game. I kinda got excited about being able to eat again, I'm sure like most people do, and got off track. I'm down a total of 46 lbs (25 pre-op and 21 post-op - that's 21 in 5 weeks) but I plan on staying on track and doing really well so if you don't mind helping me, I would GREATLY appreciate it!!!

I am looking at your Daily Menu Plan for Weeks 7 - 6 Months and I plugged what I think would be something I would eat on a daily basis into sparkpeople (for some reason I like it better than my fitness pal, but if you REALLY like MFP better, I can switch). I **thought** I was supposed to be eating like 1,200 calories a day, but according to the plan, there is no way close I am getting to 1,200 calories, no the 70-90g of protein a day. So, what I can do to make this better????

I would only be getting like 435 calories and 66g of protein. Now, I would probably have some I can't believe it's not butter spray on my toast (not included) and also a tbsp. of ranch on my lettuce (not included)....maybe not that much for only an oz. of lettuce.

Thanks, sorry to bother you!!

Did you feel lost at the beginning or am I alone?

Not Enough Calories..... :(

Help!!


I'm getting enough or pretty close to enough protein but not nearly enough calories! Before I freak out (I haven't even been on "real" food a week) and call/email my nutritionist, what can I be doing wrong?

What are your tricks? I mean 3 oz. meals you really can't have 1,200 calories........


So bandsters who have some time under your belt, help!!

T.I.G.H.T.N.E.S.S.

Wow.

I'm tight first thing in the morning. Like REALLY tight.

But by the evening I feel REALLY loose.

This is where the fun begins, right? ;)

On a good note, I'm down a total of 46.8!!!

Gurgle, gurgle!

Well Hello Friday!!

Oh goodness here we are and I still have laundry to fold! I cannot stand laundry. It is my LEAST favorite household activity!

I have soooo much to do today and yet here I sit on the computer!!! UGH!

Ok, it's official, I can eat again! I am officially off all liquid, full liquid, mushie and soft diets. I can eat regular foods again today. The idea of that is strange to me. I've been eating whatever I've been told for more than a month now so now that I have control of it kind of scares me. I REALLY need to keep tracking of everything.

I'm also really bad at eating first thing in the morning too! Got to break that habit!

So, I am officially banded. Officially have a fill in it. Oh yeah, yesterday while at the hospital with my mother-in-law waiting for my father-in-law to have his surgery, we went to grab lunch because his surgery got pushed by 3 HOURS (felt bad for them!!!) so I got a cup of soup and a piece of pumpkin pie. They had stopped serving lunch and well, I was still on softs yesterday and considering my choices it was the best I could do. I still had a bad habit. I bought the bigger cup of soup. Only ate half. Took 3 or 4 bites of the filling of the pie (no crust was eaten) and was TOTALLY full!! But, by the evening meal (which because of the crazy hectic schedule of surgery waiting and recital going to for niece and nephew consisted of a small chili from Wendy's) I didn't get as full with that. Is that because I am tighter in the morning that evening? Is there a way to stay as tight all day long???

So, I'm banded. I called the insurance company today too. I've been a nervous wreck for like a month and a half because for some reason I've been nervous that they weren't going to end up covering it even though I fit the profile of it. Well they did. Whew. The hospital's business office has been calling and I haven't spoken with them but it must be for another reason, I think I know why now.......got to call them back....sigh.


I'm banded. I can't believe it. For years I have contemplated it. And now I finally did it! I'm banded baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My first Lap Band Fill

I have a big packet of info from my nutritionist I got the last time I was at the clinic. She gave me all the info I would need to progress in my diet over the pureed to soft to regular food periods. And as I was looking over the regular foods, I noticed what was expected of me for dinner. 3 oz. No, not 3 oz. of protein. 3 oz. Yikes! Knowing that and knowing that I am stuck now in that bandster time frame where I could eat anything again, yep, I fell into that, I called the clinic.

My PA (oops, sorry I stated early she was an NP, she's not, she's a PA) said I could call earlier than my scheduled appointment if I thought I needed an adjustment or fill earlier (thank goodness) so I took her up on her offer!

I went in today. Remember in my previous post how I said she told me she would be aggressive, she wasn't kidding. She put in 5 cc's in my 11 cc band. Took 2 sips of water and she said you need some out. Instant "gurgling" (the only way I can explain the feeling or sensation - if you are a bandster you may get it) on the second sip.

She took out maybe less than 1 cc after. I was told to take it easy, full liquids today, purees tomorrow, softs Thursday and officially back to regular foods for the first time in a month on Friday. If I don't need her to take anymore out. I still feel a little in my throat. So, I'm thinking I may need to go back. I just drank 4 oz. of a protein shake and didn't really feel like it was much of a problem though......

So tell me my fellow lap-banders, what were your first fill experiences like? Similar? Completely different? I thought before was interesting now comes the interesting part I think, finding that green zone.


Also, I don't know if this will be considered a NSV or not (probably not, since it is related to my scale) but my BMI has already dropped 7 points!!! (EDITED TO SAY: it's actually 6.1 points. Opps!!!) YEAH!! Really that right there is starting to bring tears to my eyes!

Starting to try to get out there and walk more too. My mother-in-law kept my kids while I was at my appointment so when we got home my goal was to walk for 40 mins. with them in our neighborhood. It is getting close to 90 degrees, which doesn't sound like much fun, but we have a lot of shaded areas so it wasn't too bad, but after 20 mins. L was COMPLAINING so we started to head home. I ended up getting in 31 mins. So, not too bad considering.

Lastly a quick update on my dad (I want his permission before giving a MAJOR update), he's home and resting and did well with what he had to do today!!!

Also edited to add: I took the stairs to the clinic today! Lap Band Gal said on her blog one day that she had made a promise to herself that once she had her surgery that she would only take the stairs to her clinic. Well, I missed my first post-op appointment, but what a great idea! So, today I did!! Can't wait until I'm not out of breath!

Simple Monday and something actually Band related!!

Outside my window...it's raining and thundering!!! Glad we got our errands done early today!!

I am thinking...that I'm actually going in for my first fill tomorrow. My first fill isn't technically scheduled until July 11th, but I am supposed to start "regular food" tomorrow and well, I know right now I could eat WAY more than I am supposed (3 oz. at dinner time). So yeah, it's time for a fill. My NP said that if I felt like I needed it earlier just to call and I did and I'm on my way in tomorrow. She said she is going to be very aggressive to get me into my green zone in the 90 days following my surgery. I mean we are already 28 days in today and no fill so it's going to have to be VERY aggressive in the next 60 days.

I am thankful for...my husband. I had a few VERY grouchy days last week and he was so incredibly patient with me.

From the kitchen...I just made both my kids sunbutter sandwiches. What’s sunbutter you ask? Well, since we are a peanut free home (unless we sneak some in our bedroom ONLY when L is not in the house and then we have to CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN before he comes home, which by the way is like once a year when this happens) we have a peanut butter alternative. It’s made from sunflower seeds. It looks like peanut butter, smells like sunflower seeds, tastes like sunflower seeds, has the consistency of peanut butter and you can use it in way you would use peanut butter! There is a name brand Sunbutter, but we usually just head from Trader Joe’s and buy their brand.

I am wearing...a t-shirt and capris. Small NSV…..shirts are STARTING, I say starting, because it is just BARELY happening, to become loose!!! Small NSV!! (for those not in the band world an NSV is a non-scale victory, in other words, it means it has something to do with weight loss, but the scale doesn’t count!)

I am creating...ideas in my head about what to do with these kids this summer!!

I am going...nowhere else today! We’ve already met my in-laws for breakfast, went to the gas station, went to get the tags renewed on my mini-van (yep, that’s how I roll) and to the grocery store..

I am reading...nothing really. Band blogs. Pinterest. My brother gave me the Hunger Game trilogy but I have yet to get into them.

I am hoping...that everything goes well for my dad and father-in-law. Praying for both this week.

I am hearing...washer just stop and thunder every now and again.

Around the house...my tween and I got a bunch accomplished today already but laundry is a never ending battle at our house. How about yours?


One of my favorite things...texting. I love texting. I don’t know what life would be like without now. You know? My mom HATES to text. My in-laws just got a texting plan in the last 6 months.

Father's Day Edition

Father's Day

I wasn't blogging really during Mother's Day. So, I have some guilt about not blogging about how awesome my mom is, so I will need to set aside some time soon and tell you all about her!

But, in honor of today being Father's Day, I think it's important to tell you about all the Fathers in my life.

First, is my Dad. My dad is a Southern man made into a Northern man. He was raised in the south by his parents. His own dad passed away when my dad was young so he and his 5 siblings were raised by a single mom with not a lot of money. When he went away to Bible college, I'm sure this was a big deal to them all. That's where he met my mom. They met and fell in love. I'm not actually sure why, but she came home after only a year away at school and well, he followed her. And that was it. A couple of years later they were married. A year after they were married I was born. He is a HARD worker. He has a tremendous work ethic. Most people could learn from my dad. I could learn from my dad. My dad is the kind of man that has a BIG heart. He is very tender hearted. He has an opinion on most things, he knows a lot of stuff, he came back to the Lord when I was a teenager, he meant business when he was discipling you, but you knew he loved you. My dad loves my mom more than I can say and shows it by actions and words. He loves me and my brother by the way he raised us by teaching us ethics and morals and the ways of the Lord and what's right and wrong. My dad is my little autistic boy's big buddy. They have a little thing and it is one of the sweetest things to see.

My Papa (pronounced paw-paw). Well, my Papa has been gone this summer 8 years. He was a man who had been through a lot. He was raised in the south as well and moved north for work. He worked in a place where he moved to a place where he could have had a more prestigious position of management (I hear) but he turned it down, because he didn't want, I don't think it was the responsibility per se, but maybe the drama that comes along with that type of position. See he would have been moving from the blue collar side of the world to the white collar side. He chose to stay on the blue collar side. Still kind of a "boss" but not quite the manager. My grandpa had a brain aneurysm when I was like 7 or 8 years old. I think my mom and I were at a Brownie meeting. That changed our lives forever. That was in the early '80's. We are blessed that he lived, but his personality was never the same. He was a patient man before and kind of lost that. He was still a sweet man, but not quite the same. I don't remember much before he got sick but everyone tells me stories of me running into his house and he would have butterscotches hidden under the couch for he and I to share and watch tv. I was the only grandchild for a couple of years and the only girl for a long time. At his job he ended up having to medically retire because he couldn't do his work anymore. Everywhere we turned around our town we would run into someone he would know from work. Sometimes he would know their name, sometimes just faces. But, I think almost every restaurant we went to there was somebody. I hear he was tough, but fair. One memory I have is that he made a bunch snowballs in the winter and kept them in the freezer until the summer for us to have a snowball fight.

My husband. My goodness what an awesome man I got. Who knew at 16 years old (that's how old he was when I met him) that not only would I meet the boy that would become the man who would not only be my husband but the father to my kids!! He is an AWESOME dad. LOVES, LOVES, LOVES these babies (I say babies but they are almost 12 and 6 1/2)and he is not the kind of man that only plays and doesn't discipline. You know those kind of guys? I hear about them. My husband, thankfully, is not one of them. He plays with them and disciplines them. He loves them, but will talk with them. He shows them how to do things, sits down and does homework with them (I have no idea how I would have helped my poor M with her math this year had it not been for him). He couldn't be a better father. Honestly. I am in love with the man that is my husband and the father of my children.

The Lord.

I saved Him for last. If it wasn't for the Lord, I don't know where I would be. I know a lot people on tv and throughout life talk about God so easily, but I wonder how many of you have people in your lives that have an actual relationship with God. Well, I do. When I was young my parents took me to church. I learned all the stories from the Bible and all the things they wanted me to learn, but it took me becoming a teenager and adult to hear the things and think about them for myself to really think about them to understand them and believe them to know that my God is real. He created this universe. I know the world is scary. I know a lot of bad things happen. But, a lot of good happens too. God loves you. HE LOVES YOU!!!!!! With everything He had (His own Son's life) He gave it all for you!

So, to all my Father's in my life, Happy Father's Day!!! I love you!!!!!!!!