Honesty

Okay...this is me being honest with myself. I am officially overweight for my age and height. There I said it. Now I had already made a new year's resolution to lose weight just like everyone else in the world, right?! I had also determined not to tell very many people that I was going to try since I didn't want to look like a fool if I don't lose the weight. So in a conversation with myself tonight... (yes I talk to myself) I realized I was setting myself up for failure by thinking about failing to lose the weight when I've barely even started. Think positive, right?! So I have decided to enlist support from the people who know and love me best... my family and friends. If you want to help me on this journey to a new lifestyle please send me emails of encouragement every once in awhile or tips for fitting in a healthy lifestyle in a very hectic schedule. I made my first healthy step last week by making it to the gym twice. I made it to the gym again tonite with a little encouragement from Shawn. Yay me! My eating habits are my biggest nemesis, however. I have a torrid love affair with sugar. There are some days I have thought about driving to the store just for a bag of candy. Then there is the whole "setting an example for my child". Guess what Jonah loves... sugar! So I am trying a trick from the new cookbook by J. Seinfeld. I am putting vegetable puree in different dishes. I tried sweet potato tonight in homemade tomato sauce for chili mac. I couldn't even tell it was in there! I think I'll try something with spinach next. Jonah of course didn't try it but I will persevere. Now I need to get to bed so all my hardwork at the gym is not wasted. Oh and one last thing... pray for me at the beginning of March... I take my board exam then. Love you all.

Catching Up

Jonah in Feb 07 on our snow day

Jonah has been growing so fast and I haven't had the chance to post near as much as I would have liked to. Sooo, I thought I'd post a few funny pics from the entire past year. Its still amazing to me how fast he is growing and changing. Its been challenging taking care of a 2 year old but I can't say it wasn't fun too. It will be interesting to see what the next year brings.

Jonah wearing Daddy's sweatshirt

Jonah this past summer with cake

Jonah trick or treating

Jonah in the leaves at our new house

Jonah pretending to be asleep in the laundry

Jonah trying on Santa's hat

Jonah's 3rd Birthday

So we celebrated Jonah's 3rd Birthday Sunday. We had Transformer balloons and cake and plates since it is his favorite thing right now. His birthday always seems to sneak up on me. It seems I will have to start planning his birthday before Christmas if I'm going to be organized. As it was I kind of threw it together at the last minute. Jonah only had one friend over which was fine since we were kind of recovering from going to the ER on Friday. Jonah was at daycare and it seems about 15 minutes before I picked him up he stepped on a toy and slipped and hit his head on the floor. He ended up with a GIANT goose egg on his left side right above his ear. And if this wasn't bad enough, the daycare said that he hit his right side. Now for those of you not just graduated from nursing school... this panicked me because I was terrified the bump on the other side was from a bleed on his brain. To make matters worse as I was driving to the ER he was falling asleep and I was yelling at him to stay awake. He sat on my lap on the gurney in the ER like a perfect angel, which anyone with a 3 year old knows is not normal behavior. He lay perfectly still for the CAT scan. Finally, while we were waiting for his results to come back he started acting up and trying to take off his ID bracelet. I don't think I've ever been happier to see my child "misbehave". The end result was only soft tissue damage, nothing inside the skull was hurt. He is lucky he has such a hard head. The xray tech said we could have a CD of his scan which I don't have yet but will keep to show him when he gets older to tell him all about the day he scared at least a year off his Mommy and Daddy's lives. Anyways his party was a success and we are all happy to have a healthy normal 3 year old in our lives.

Graduated!!!!!!!!!

As all of you probably know already, I have graduated from the RN program and after studying and taking my board exam I will finally be a nurse. Thank you everyone for all your continued support and prayers. Here are a few pics from my graduation party late December.

Christmas Pictures

So here are some pictures that we had done at Sears on last Friday. I thought you all might like seeing them. Jonah and Ella were soooo good this day even after spending a day at the mall. It was a small miracle. I rewarded Jonah with a ride on the train and his first visit to Santa. When Santa asked him what he wanted he said "Presents" of course. Christmas is approaching fast and Santa and presents are on Jonah's mind often. This is the first Christmas where I really feel like he is into it. He reminds me of what it used to be like. We sing Christmas songs often and look forward to spending time together as a family. He recently started understanding that concept as well. School is winding to a close for me and Shawn is looking forward to a little vacation time well deserved. I look forward to seeing some of you and hearing about new additions from others. Hope everything finds you all happy, healthy and sharing the Christmas spirit. So Merry Christmas everybody, all month long!

Our New House

Hello All and Happy Halloween! It is ironic that the last post I made was the first day of October and now I'm posting on the last day. I as always have been extremely busy. In fact for a little while I wondered if Shawn and I would stay sane. After all the house debacle, we are finally moved in. I say that with a laugh since any of you who have moved know that moving in is a process that takes longer than just a weekend. I am desperately trying to reign in the desire to decorate and paint since I really need to finish school. I only have 6 weeks left till I graduate! Maybe I will find a few hours here and there to accomplish some of the rooms that we want to paint. I really look forward to having family get togethers here sometimes. I've put up some pics of the house after we started moving everything in. I will post more pics later. I will also try to email all of you our new address. If I happen to miss one of you just let me know. Tonite Shawn is looking forward to taking Jonah trick-or-treating for the first time. He will be going as SpiderMan of course! I will probably be handing out candy (I'm not sure what to expect in this neighborhood). Then it will be nose back to the grindstone for me. I also have put up some pics of Jonah wearing his cowboy hat recently. His imagination has really taken off. Well I hope all of you have a fun & safe Halloween. I look forward to seeing some of you the upcoming holiday season (maybe some little ones for the first time).

House News!

We have sold our house and bought a new one! Yup that's right we will be moving! I will have a new address for all of you within a few weeks. I have soo much in my little brain to share with all of you that I'm not even sure where to begin...Laura had her baby girl! I'm sure you all have seen pics. I have a few but want to make sure that she okays before I post anything. School is in full swing and I have been hard pressed to get sleep with all the homework loading me down. And you all know what lack of sleep does to you... it strains your health. You got it I am sick and so is Jonah. I sound like a frog when I talk and a dog bark when I cough. I'm going to the Doc this week and hopefully Jonah and I both will get cleared up in enough time to pack and move. Jonah has been in pretty good spirits despite being sick. He is powerfully strong willed and definitely 2! I am including funny pics of him posing for me and jumping on the bed. The onry squirt knows exactly when I have my hands full so he can do what he's not supposed to. Today he decided to do homework with me and was busy scribbling at a table I set up next to my computer. Well I need to get to bed. I still have to get up early and read 2 chapters for class in the AM! I hope to find a few minutes to post again soon. Until then, take care.