I'm Baaack!

Wow, that was quite the hiatus!  I've decided to start blogging again to keep our friends and family up to date.  I have Facebook, but I don't post on there too often and this way I can elaborate more instead of a huge long post on Facebook.  So I'm just going to start fresh. So without further adieu, here is what has been going on recently with our family!

For those close to us, you know our 3 year old, Jasmine, is a handful.  Yes, she is a threenager, but for a while there I was convinced she had ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder).  I KNEW she was acting out just to push my buttons.  I was going CRAZY!!!  Tony kept telling me she was just being 3, but I wasn't buyin' it.  My relationship with my daughter was getting toxic.  I didn't hate her, but most days I didn't like her.  I yelled all the time, I was stressed, and honestly, I've had 2 major breakdowns (one to the point that Tony had to come home from an open house because I could not move).  This quote from The Explosive Child pretty much sums up how I was feeling, my daughter "has caused me to act in ways in which I never thought myself capable.  I'm emotionally spent.  I can't keep living like this."  Something had to change.

So I asked on our neighborhood Facebook page for recommendations for child therapists that work with ODD.  A fabulous lady, Sarah Green, commented that she runs Heartlight Services.  She offers free consultations so I thought let's give it a try.  Jasmine and I met her and her immediate response was that Jasmine doesn't have ODD, but she's actually just very sensitive.  She named a few characteristics of sensitive kids and it was basically exactly Jasmine's personality.  After 10 minutes with her, I knew Sarah could help us.  She was going to be out of the country for more training, so we had to wait a couple weeks before we could do an IN HOME parent coaching session.  She gave me the name of a book to read, The Connected Child by Karyn Purvis, to start reading until our session.  I read it and another book a friend suggested, The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene. Currently I am reading another book, Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka.  With implementing parenting methods from each of these books, I am happy to report my relationship with Jasmine is 1000% percent better.  Is it perfect?  Not by a long shot.  There are times I yell and honestly even times when I still spank, but I am improving, and I understand my daughter better.  Understanding why she behaves the way she does has drastically helped me.  So for those of you who have a strong willed, spirited, explosive or whatever adjective you want to use child, I HIGHLY recommend these books and if you live in the area, call Sarah.  If I hadn't met her, I could still be emotionally frenzied and at my wits end.  But now I am calmer.  Which for my high strung self, says a lot.  Until next time!  

Zoo Day

The girls were hit with the horrendous stomach bug this week.  Thankfully, they were all better to spend the day at the zoo celebrating Brianna's (my niece) 3rd birthday today. 

Watching the otters

Watching turtles and the 

crocodile look a like thing

 

Jasmine's 2nd Birthday

Last Wednesday our baby girl turned 2!!!  Can you believe it?  The day started out pretty chill.  Her cousins  came over and Daddy started a new tradition and took her to breakfast to IHOP, just the two of them.  After nap, we went to Going Bonkers and they played for hours!  We all had a ton of fun there!  I'm seriously considering getting a season pass for me and the girls.  Here are some pictures of the day.  My amazing sister, Krysten, made the cake.  Jasmine LOVES minions! 

 

Jasmine and Daddy going down the slide

Gabby and Daddy going down the slide

Whack a Mole

Time for cake!

Banana!

 

 

Final Weigh In

This past week was the final weigh in for the Biggest Loser weight loss challenge.  I worked really hard because I really wanted to win.  Here is where I ended for this 6 week challenge:

Weight:  127.6 - 3.5% weekly loss - 7.94% total loss
Waist:  31.5 inches - 0 weekly loss - 2.5 inch total loss
Neck:  11.25 inches - .25 inch weekly loss - .75 inch total loss
Hips:  36 inches - 1.5 inch weekly loss - 2 inch total loss

So with my current weight, I'm now in the normal weight range for my height.  Hooray!!!  And I'm so happy I FINALLY lost some inches in the hips!  Now, as far as how I did in the weight loss competition....I WON!!!  WOO HOO!  It took me 4 rounds to finally win something, but I did it!  The next one will start the first week of January, so if you want in, let me know!  Have a great week!

Weeks 4 & 5

Last week was a little crazy with Thanksgiving, so I forgot to post.  AND I forgot to take measurements this week and last week, so I'll have to update that next week.  Here are my weight stats for the past 2 weeks:

Week 4:  133.2 pounds-.89% weekly loss-3.9% total loss
Week 5:  132.2 pounds-.75% weekly loss-4.62% total loss

Not too shabby.  I'm almost to my second reward goal of 130! 

Week #3

Sorry I didn't post yesterday.  Here are my stats as of this week:

Weight: 134.4-.74% weekly loss-3.03% total loss
Waist: 31 inches-1.5 inch weekly loss-3 inch total loss
Hips: 37.5 inches-no weekly loss-1/2 inch total loss
Neck: 11.5 inches-no weekly loss-1/2 inch total loss

I am a little bummed I only lost inches in my waist, but I'm trying not to dwell on that too much because I am still losing.  Have a great week!

Week #2

Here are my stats for this weigh in:

Weight: 135.4 pounds-1.02% weekly loss-2.31% total loss
Waist: 33.5 inches-no weekly loss-1/2 inch loss total
Neck: 11.5 inches-no weekly loss-1/2 inch loss total
Hips: 37.5 inches-no weekly loss-1/2 inch loss total

So no loss in inches, but a small loss in weight.  A loss is a loss right? 

I've read before that the less you eat of something, the less you will crave it.  I never believed that because how could I possibly not crave chocolate?  Well, it turns out it's totally true!  Tuesday is my designated cheat day and I can eat whatever I want.  I chose Tuesday because Tony plays basketball on Tuesday nights, so after the girls go to bed, I have some quality time with myself and I catch up on all my recorded shows.  Although I almost always watch Gilmore Girls.  Well, in the past, I would open a bag of Doritos, a box of Swiss Cake Rolls, and a carton of juice and let loose.  However, the past couple of weeks I have been trying so hard not to eat those things so last night when I went to the store, I grabbed a bag of Doritos and then thought to myself, "I don't even want these" and put it back on the shelf.  I even bought a bag of sliced apples!  For those that know me well, know that I would NEVER buy sliced apples instead of chips.  Then when Tony left I didn't even want the snack cakes!  It was so amazing!  I did eat a cookie from Chick Fil A, but I ate it slowly instead of demolishing it in 2 minutes.  Progress my friends!  See you next week!