Don't Eat That

My mom’s house burned several years ago and when she started to rebuild, she spent a ton of time discussing doors and doorways.  What she ended up with was nothing like the nice drawings we had painstakingly managed to put together.

And, when the final stroke of paint was spread, the last nail hammered and the last appliance plugged in, she had this awesome pocket door system on her pantry.

I love that door and if I ever get to build a house, I’m using these kinds of doors in as many places as possible.  That’s some of the best room saving steps ever.

Yes, my youngest on was 5 last November but that doesn’t negate the need for and the love of my maternity clothes.  Honestly, those the most comfortable low-rise pants and shorts I’ve ever had. 

I pretty sure they alarm the fashion police too and if you have are one of the many authors of great fashion blogs, I could always use your support with my clothes for the upcoming conference.  Honestly, I doubt anyone wants to seem me sporting those maternity jeans all over the cocktail scene, do they?

You see, I’ve been doing my best to curb my eating habits while I can’t chew.  Instead what I have found is that I prefer milkshakes to yogurt any day.  And, my husband was dead set that we would have a sliding door off of our kitchen so we could grill out without having to heard around the whole house.

Me?  I didn’t really care one way or another.  The best part was that if we were grilling, he was cooking.  But, as it is now, he is cooking anyway because when you can’t chew, it’s just wrong to make a girl cook, don’t you think? 

So, when the house plans are drawn up for the next house, and lets face it, we will outgrow this one sooner than later, if we haven’t already, we will have a a doorway in the kitchen and we will have one more big grill on the deck off the kitchen.  Happy grilling is all I have to say!

Yes, I know, I have the Your Shape game courtesy of Collective Bias and I’m suppose to show you what I do and not tell you but……let’s just leave it at seeing myself on that TV is bad, seeing it in video, oh my, not for the weak hearted, let’s just leave it at that.

I will tell you that I started last Monday when I had managed, somehow to regain all the weight I had lost.  I’m blaming that on all that pineapple ice cream at Disney.

But, here we are one week down, many many more to go and I used Jenny McCarthy’s Your Shape Challenge only three days last week.  Sorry, but I am down 4 pounds, who know, I ate a dozen donuts out of anxiety after I had the car accident on Wednesday but I don’t think I actually at anything else until late Friday night.

And now?  I could be doing my little sprint of exercises from the game while my five-year-old is gone and can’t sit and laugh at me (more like roll on the floor laughing) but instead, I’m starving because this not chewing of food is really getting to me.  Right now I’ve resulted to the bucket of chocolate ice cream I found in the freezer. 

And, it’s not like I get any encouragement here, my cousin just sent me a text message to tell me all about this great new restaurant.  Of course, he can chew!

Ok, one week, 4 pounds…I’ll take it!  Let’s hope SXW doesn’t induce lots of weight gain!  Normally when I do conferences I don’t gain weight but normally there’s not so much ice cream just hanging out on every corner!

With that!  I’m done!  Brave?  Absolutely not and I’ll show you guys later but for now….just be happy, mmmkay?

I checked into have a surgery to make my stomach smaller a couple of years ago.  And, I qualified with diabetis, hypertension and gastro-intestinal distress, I easily qualify from a medical standpoint for the surgery.  However, our insurance hasn’t been very accommodating.

The reality is, I am over-weight and I suffer from thyroid dysfunction and other odds and ends going on with my body, our insurance still doesn’t think that I am a good candidate  And, as you know, I’ve taken part in a couple of Wii game challenges.  I even had this nasty surgery for TMJ that has basically prevented me from chewing since early November.  Still, the weight just bounces around. 

Even with the way things have been, I’ve had a lot of surgeries and although we make jokes when I see new doctors and they ask for my surgical history by telling them to get an extra piece of paper, the truth is, services like My Online Medical would make this a much easier task and for that matter, this could provide me with some safety in case I was in a position where I couldn’t give my medical history to anyone.  I’m anxious to give this a try.

Ok, you see, that is precisely the problem….I want to talk about food for a second and it turns into day long monologues.  You know the kind, the ones that keep me running to and from the fridge for…yea, more ice cream.

Actually, that’s not what this post is about.  You see, my children and husband basically have been eating as bad or worse than I have since I had the TMJ surgery.  And last week, we finally called foul and took the sugar and caffeine from our kids diet and put them back on the kind of foods that little kids are suppose to eat. 

And, what kind of food is that?  Well, no more soda. Yea, I know, that shouldn’t even need to be addressed.  But, the fact is, we were lazy about our kids habits and when they asked for a soda, we said yes.  And, sugar, holy mother of a cow, Christmas candy, birthday cakes, and now Valentine candy, where does it end.

Well, for my sweet cherubs, it ended last week.  Yes, we were on vacation in Disney World and yes they had some ice cream but no soda, no pure sugar via plain bags o’ bags o’ bags of candy.  Although my husband eats candy at a ridiculous rate when we are traveling, we didn’t give in to the begging. 

And, behavior?  Much improved.  Guilty level for mom and dad? Much Much Much MUCH Improved.  Now to work on our own eating habits…..ugh!

Yes I know, I’m a slacker, go ahead.  You can say I’m a slacker and have it ring true in many ways.  Let’s start with my weight.  How in the heck I can balloon back up to 220 pounds without having good food to eat is beyond me. 

Wait, let me rephrase that, without having good nutritional food to eat.  You see, this not chewing thing has me eating ice cream at an obnoxious rate.  And, returning from a weeklong trip to Disney where pineapple ice cream was just taunting me around every corner would probably be the reason why I have gained all this weight back.

But, indeed, I have some solutions tucked away.  Just before leaving for Disney I received the Wii game from Ubisoft and Jenny McCarthy called Your Shape.  Hopefully once I find my family room floor again (it appears that the dirty laundry from a week of vacationing has exploded there for now), I will get my backside in motion and get some of this weight off. 

And, then again…………….argh!

Webcam chat at Ustream

Look for live streaming video of “The Equinox Express”

• on Monday, February 8th when it is dropped off
• on Monday, February 8th when Boy Genius arrives home and gets the tour
• on Tuesday, the 9th as we start loading our bags for travel
• on Tuesday, the 9th as we get moving down the road toward Orlando
• on Tuesday at various stops along the trip from my house to Mickey Mouse’s House on Wednesday, the 10th
• on Wednesday, the 10th as we navigate to Mickey’s House
• from Wednesday through Friday, the 10th thru the 12th as we give various bloggers a tour of The Equinox Express
• Saturday, the 13th as we make our final tour of the Mouse’s House
• Sunday, the 14th (talk about a Valentine’s Day of Fun) as we make the trek home from Mickey Mouse’s house
• Sunday, the 14th as we unload the car and prepare for its departure on Monday, the 15th
• Monday, the 15th while we await someone from the GM Family to retrieve the Equinox Express
• Monday, the 15th as well all sadly watch as the Equinox Express is returned to the hands of the GM Family

You know, I’m all about movement and making our mark in the world.  I don’t move enough but I have made the decision to increase my lack of inactivity by just a little each day.  With that, my kids are extremely active and I hope they continue to enjoy the running and playing.  Children learn so much from movement from the early stages of turning their head from one side to another, through rolling over, learning to walk and then learning to run. 

The Primrose Schools are hosting a dance-off.  Basically we are talking about a Family Dance-ff Video Competition.  It combines the exercise that we all need with an increase in quality time with our children.  In case you aren’t familiar with the Primose schools, they are considered the leader in educational child care.  They have launched a national campaign to promote physical activity and healthy choices. 

So how can you join in the fun? 

First, record a 30 second home video of your family putting on the ritz with their best dance moves.  Then, visit the Family Dance-Off site and upload your best video.  From there, you just visit and vote daily for your favorite family dance video. 

If your video makes the cut, you are eligible to win a $5,000 grand prize, Wii Fit Bundle, Flip Video Camera and a $30,000 donation to your local Children’s Miracle Network. 

Here’s some food for thought:

Childhood obesity is a critical issue for young children in America. Dance is a fun, easy way to introduce physical activity into your family’s routine while enjoying quality time together. The Family Dance-off supports Children’s Miracle Network, a non-profit organization that raises funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals, which collectively treat 17 million children annually for every illness and injury imaginable.

With that, how can you pass up the chance to get your groove on and show your little mites some of your best moves?  Let’s go, get busy….moving, growing, learning…