day in the life of a cripple

so today has been pretty boring. it's really cold and off and on rainy so the kids have been inside all day. luckily derek is such a good sport and is going to take kate, ann, and sam to HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3!!! he so awesome...i don't know many dads who would take their daughters to a movie like that without mom. he went and bought the tickets early during lunch. the lady at the theater told him that he should come back at 5:30pm to get a good seat for the 7:30pm movie!! anyway, the girls are super excited. i'm really hoping sami doesn't have a potty accident while they're gone.

anyway, here's an updated pic of my ankle. i can walk on it ok...but it starts hurting after awhile, so i've been trying to get some things done in between putting it up.
another exciting thing about today...
a few weeks ago my really good friend had a family emergency and she packed up and left town really fast. anyway, we live far from our families, and so we've had to adopt our friends as our family out here. when my friend was hurting so much i realized how much i really care about her and my other friends here, and how luck i am to have such great friends. anyway, she is coming home today, and i'm really excited to have her back.

Jewlery Give Away

http://rhbdesigns.blogspot.com/

check out this blog. she doing a giveaway of some jewelry she makes. it is SO cute.

my week so far

first of all i have decided to weigh in on saturday morning. i take sunday off, so i feel like monday isn't that accurate. and saturday is after a week of working out!! so from now i will be posting my weight loss on saturdays.

sunday i finally put a headband on alexis. it the first time she's "had her hair done". i have to admit...it looked pretty cute.

we have a reward/punishment system set up in our house for katelyn and annie. i bought a bunch of those rocks you put in a fish tank, or in a hurricane lamp etc, and i got each girl a jar. whenever they do something helpful on their own, or if asked they do it without whinning they get X amount on rocks. it works really well. they girls both make their beds every morning and help out with chores around the house without TOO much complaining. anyway, when they get their jar filled to the top they get something. 2 times ago they earned new razon scooters. the reward is usually something really good because it takes them a long time to fill up the jars. oh, if they are really bad the jar gets totally dumped out. example...i told annie it was time to come inside and she stood on the porch (where all the neighbors could see her) and yelled, no screamed, "NO, you're so mean, nobody else has to come inside. i hate you." ya, that was a time annie's jar was about an inch from the top and i dumped the whole thing out. she hasn't done that again!! anyway, the reason i'm telling you all about this is #1 a friend asked me to post a picture of the jars. #2 the girls both filled their jars last week and they wanted MP3 players. monday night i was up until 1am putting music on the MP3 players for them.

earlier on monday i went to the church to play ultimate frisbee with some of my friends. holy cow that is a killer work out. and it's SO FUN. my plan is to play that monday, wednesday, and friday. well, it was my plan...unfortunately on wednesday i went to play and seriously 30 seconds into the game i jumped up to catch the frisbee and when i came down i landed on another girls foot and SPRAINED MY STINKIN' ANKLE. holy cow that hurt...it was SO painful, but i didn't say one swear word!!! i tried so hard to be tough...i got a little teary eyed when i started thinking about my girls though. i was feeling overwhelmed thinking about all the things i need to do, but couldn't without being able to walk. like take sami potty, and carry the baby. i have such a great friend here who brought me home, got me situated, changed alexis's diaper, took sami to her house and fed her lunch, and then luckily derek was able to come home from work. he is so fabulous. i seriously only got off the couch 2 times the whole day, and derek took care of everything. he did make me put my foot in a bucket of ice water 3 times every 4 hours. that doesn't feel good at all, but it totally helps with the swelling. now today i can sorta walk on it. i look seriously handicapped, but at least i can get around. derek had to go to work today, so i had to be able to walk. luckily katelyn and annie don't have school today or tomorrow. usually i wouldn't be excited about that, but they are such good helpers so it's been really nice. and they feel bad their mom's hurt, so they're being really good! i'm pretty annoyed about this whole situation, because working out is out the window now for a couple weeks. i'm going to have to be so good about what i eat. sheesh!

sami found this box in the store room, and it seriously kept her entertained for hours. if i would've know she would play with it for so long i would have given her a box forever ago!!

PICTURES

alexis and samantha are my little buddies. the past few weeks have been a little trying. nursing a baby and potty training do not go hand in hand. especially when you're trying to potty train samantha. BUT...we have made leaps and bounds. she hasn't pooped her pants for 2 days, and she only had one accident today (she was here with derek... ha ha ha totally joking honey!) we went running around town yesterday and today, and she did great. and she's sleeping through the night in underwear too. i called my mom the other day freaking out because i wanted to put sam back in diapers...i'm so glad she talked me out of it. anyway, she can be so sweat too..i mean, just look at her. what a cute, funny little kid!! and alexis is an angel. she has slept through the night every night for a week now...AMAZING! some nights she doesn't go to sleep until midnight, but midnight until 7:30am is sleeping through the night if you ask me. tonight she went to sleep at 9pm, so i'm curious to see if she wakes up in the middle of the night or not. oh, and she's been smiling alot more. anyway, i love my little baby girls.

annie went to a princess birthday party, and while she was there she got her hair done. i thought it looked so pretty. i need to learn how to do it like this.

Good Little Climbers

today we all went to the mall and there's a dick's sporting goods store there. in that store there's a big climbing wall. every time we've gone there we've asked katelyn if she wants to try it, but she has always said no. today the guy who works there measured annie, and she's finally tall enough. she was all about climbing the wall. i offered to climb it too if that would help katelyn want to do it. after i said i would do it too katelyn decided she would...plus, she wasn't about to let annie show her up!! so, i wonly made it half way before i was way tired!!! both girls made it to the top! it was awesome! the pix aren't the best because derek took them with his phone, and there were huge windows behind the wall and the sun was shinning in...but you can get the point.

samantha was a good little cheerleader.

annie ready to go.
katelyn getting her gear on.
annie getting some instructions. i was a bit nervous...i didn't want to look like an idiot!!!
katelyn reaching for a hand grip...she did so good!
katelyn got to the top and hit the button...a really loud tarzan yell announced she reached the top!!

ya...annie kicked my butt!!
that's annie at the top...when she hit the button a really loud song played out, but i can't remember what it was.
ya, annie really kick my bootie...this is about where i stopped!!!
cute seesters!! they are brave little girls. a boy was watching, and when he saw both of them reach the top he had to do it too!! he didn't make it to the top though!
striking a pose!!

week 6

ok, so i've been dealing with some mental problems!!! i handle every emotion with food, but luckily i've gotten on my treadmill and some how i still am down 3 pounds. this is what i needed to get super motivated again. my friend christina is helping me with my food situation. she gave me a menu that tells me exactly when and what i eat. for me...that's what i need, because i have no self control if it's left up to me to decide. with her menu i don't have to think...i already know what i'm supposed to eat. i know weight watchers works really good, but instead of eating 6 points of something healthy for lunch, i eat 2 oreos (or more and don't count the points accurately)! another mental problem i have is that i sabotage myself. i'm scared to lose the weight. which makes no sense at all, because it's all i want. i'm not exactly sure why i'm scared...like i said...it makes no sense. so i'll get down to a certain weight and then eat like a pig, or stop working out so i don't go down anymore. i'm refusing to do that to myself this time. well, that's now true, because i already did it last week when i gained 2!! i'm refusing to do it again!!! so anyway, here's to a good week. thanks to everyone and your support!

61 - 3 = 58 lbs to go!!

week 5 (didn't post week 4)

alright everyone...there's no putting this off anymore. i'm +2 this week so i have 61 lbs to go. i have loads of excuses, but i've always made excuses for myself in the past. it's a really lame way for me to justify not getting to my goal weight. SO, no excuses this time. i have to admit...this is torture writing. i really considered lying, but that's not going to help me, so here i am...totally exposed!!! i have to say i'm really glad i got the battery in my scale changed...it really helps me stay motivated when i weigh myself everyday. AND thursday is my 6 week postpartum mark...which means i can officially start working out. i can't wait to get on my treadmill, and start doing bizillions of stomach exercises!!!! the muffin top has got to go!

Alexis Baby Blessing...in random order!

derek's parents, grandma helen, jace, jeff, kristina, elea, and my parents all came to omaha for alex's baby blessing. it was funny having everyone there. we really appreciated everyone traveling to be with us.

kristina and elea came a week early for the baby blessing. it's hilarious how two babies who have basically the same genes (moms are sisters, dads are brothers) can be so completely opposite! we were all having a good time comparing them. (just so you all know...alex is the bald one!!!)


(giving each other "rocks"!)

on september 28th it was alexis's baby blessing. it was a crazy morning because the omaha marathon was that morning and the city had the only street out of our neighborhood blocked completely off. it was very frustrating, and the police officers finally let us drive pass the baracades after much whinning and complaining!! it was hilarious when we got to church...after the sacrement was passed there were about 30 people in the foyer! the blessing itself was beautiful. derek did a really great job. the guys in the circle were derek, his dad and 2 brothers, my dad, and 5 of our friends.

week 3, and the freakin' faucet

alright, i'm having a serious problem getting this posted on monday...but at least i have been weighing myself on monday.

i was down 3 more pounds this week!! yea me!
62 - 3 = 59 lbs to go...

i think i owe this to the stress of moving. i was about to kill someone yesterday. i had to go to lowe's twice on monday, and 3 times yesterday trying to get our stupid kitchen sink faucet figured out. we have a sweet PORTABLE dishwasher that hooks up to the faucet. anyway, we wanted a new nice faucet, but 5 trips to lowe's, unfortunately a few swear words, and 3 faucets later we realized we need to stick with the most basic faucet. now i just need to get the rest of our pictures hung and we are totally done moving. phew...

dang...

we are moving into our new place on saturday. this week has been totally insane. i'm ticked i didn't think to take before and after photos of the house. it's amazing how much better it looks now. we tore out all the carpet in the whole house. the only place there wasn't carpet was in the kitchen and bathrooms. under the carpet was really nice wood floors, so we are just leaving them. we are getting new carpet put on the stairs and in the basement. that's getting installed friday. we've painted every wall in the house. it's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do. it's a ton of work though. on monday my mom painted for about 12 hours, and on tuesday i did...taking breaks long enough to feed the baby. i replaced all of the hardware in the kitchen, and we got new faucets for the kitchen and downstairs bathroom. today a guy came and tore out both bathroom floors and the shower tile, and he should be done putting in the new tile tomorrow. my poor mom scrubbed the floors (we didn't cover them while we were painting!) and washed the blinds today. it's been stressful trying to get all of this done so quickly while juggling samantha and alexis, but it will be worth it in the end. i just want this weekend to get over with. moving is a nighmare. oh, and we are seriously not painting again until we can afford to pay someone else to do it!!!!!!! oh, i watch HGTV alot when i'm nursing...the changes we made in the house could seriously be on one of their shows!!! dang...i wish i would've taken pictures...

precious moments

(this one's for you..."you" know who you are!!) a friend of ours gave us this "blanket dress" as a gift for alex. it is so soft and comfy. it's one of my favorite things to put her in. i love it!!
kids are always so beautiful when they are sleeping!! ;)
samantha has been having a rough time. i think having a new baby in the house and moving is stressing her out!! she cries alot, and she hasn't beeen sleeping as long as she used to. she has never been mean to alexis though, and she is always willing to hold her and give her loves. i love this picture...it is so sweet.
alex stays awake a little bit more everyday. she is so stinkin' cute, and i swear she tries to smile already!!!

Week 2

ok, so this is being posted a little late. i did weigh myself on monday...this is just the first time i've had a chance to get on the computer for longer than 5 minutes.

i'm down 3 more lbs this weeks. so 65 - 3 = 62 lbs to go!

speaking of loosing weight...the biggest loser started this week. i love that show...it's amazing to watch the people on that show change, and i would love to have a trainer kick my butt like that every day!!


(thank you jaimie!!!)

#1

ok, i want to loose 78 lbs, and this week i'm down....drumroll please......13 lbs!!!

78-13=65 more to go (18 to pre-pregnancy weight)


ok, so i totally know that most of this is due to water weight...but i don't care!!! it's fabulous to have my small ankles and feet back. oh, and my wedding ring fits again.

life sucks

today i was hanging out with the girls, and we were watching the disney channel. there was a commercial for the movie "life sized" and katelyn really wanted to watch it. so she got on the cable menu and started looking for it, because she wanted to record it on the DVR. after a few minutes she started getting really frustrated. i asked her what was wrong, and she said, "i can't find the movie 'life sucks'." ha ha i started cracking up and told her it was called "life sized". i have a couple of things to say about that. first, why would my daughter want to watch a movie called "life sucks", and second...what kind of mother am i if my 7 year old doesn't think twice if there really was a disney movie called that?! ha ha

true blond

annie is a pretty smart girl. she is obsessed with learning how to spell things, and she loves doing simple addition. she's been doing great in all day kindergarten. but man, that girl is a total blond!! today katelyn and she went with my mom to the gas station to get a slushy. on the front window on the store there was a poster of a little girl who is missing.
katleyn: "look grandma."
annie: "what does it say?"
grandma: "that little girl is missing."
annie: "missing what?"

this cracked me up...she is so funny. she says stuff like this all the time.

funny girl

we have decided to move from our 2 bedroom townhouse into a 4 bedroom that's across the street. i thought we could handle 6 of us living in a 2 bedroom, but i was totally delusional!! anyway, some friends wanted to come over and see our place last night because they're interested in buying it. while they were here samantha was sitting on the family room floor coloring with her crayola washable markers. she colored her pants, socks, the couch, and some other random things. one of our friends brought a can of diet pepsi with her, and she sat it on the table while they were looking at the house. she told us later that when she got home her hand was all black. she finally realized that samantha had been stealing drinks of her diet pepsi and left her marker hand prints all over the can!!!! ha ha

coming home, first bath, new name, weight loss

Going Home
this time around i stayed in the hospital for 2 nights. with the other 3 girls i was tapping my toes waiting for the first 24 hours to end to i could get home. this time i needed the full 48 hours, but then i was ready to come home. samantha kind of freaked out when i got home. she wouldn't stop crying and if my mom got anywhere near her she would flip out. it's kind of like that still. if sam and my mom are alone then sami is so good for her, but if i'm in the room she is mean to my mom. apparently samantha doesn't realize how lucky we are to have grandma here for as long as we do!!! samantha did one of the funniest things the day we came home from the hospital. i was feeding alexis and sam got her car seat, dragged it up on to the couch next to me and said, "baby in, baby in." ya, she was ready for the baby to leave after being home for about 5 minutes!!! i've been trying really hard to spend time with samantha and let her know she's still loved...i'm pretty sure she still thinks alexis rained on her parade!!! getting into the lotion is the most naught thing she's done while i've been nursing...so i'm thankful for that!!











baths are SO relaxing
alexis already likes her baths. out tub is perfect because even with it pretty full the water still doesn't get up to her belly button/cord. so she is still really warm. she looks so tiny wrapped up in derek's hands. i want time to stop for just a little while, so we can really enjoy alexis being so little.

McKenzie is now Alexis
When we found out our baby was a girl Derek loved the name Alexis, with the nickname Lexie. I really liked Alexis too, but Lexie was way to popular for me. So, with a lot of "discussing" Derek agreed to use the name McKenzie. Well, Derek and the girls don't call her McKenzie...they've been calling her Kenzie...which I am not a fan. Then on Monday Derek called her Lexie about 5 times on accident. Later that night he was sitting here looking at her and I asked him what he was thinking about. He told me she's an Alexis, not a McKenzie. I told him too bad!! (My mom was not part of that conversation.) Yesterday I was holding McKenzie and I asked my mom if she could take her. She said, "Come here my little LEXIE."!!!! So, with much hesitation, mostly because it feels weird to call her something different after 5 days, we are officially changing Mckenzie's name to Alexis. Katelyn and Annie haven't had one problem with the change, and actually Samantha can say Lexie much easier than Kenzie. Oh, one more thing...Derek doesn't agree, but I'm totally fine with Alexis being called Alex! I think that would go really cute with Sam.


Weight to be Lost.....
i meant to post this on monday...just because it was september 1st...the start of a new month. but this will be just as good. i am on a quest to finally loose the weight i have been wishing was gone since after katelyn was born. the weight i have been disgusted by for 7 years. now that baby number 4 is here, and i'm almost certain ("almost" because derek's not on board yet!!) i will never be fat and pregnant again i am ready to get back down to my "normal" weight. i'm asking all of you for your support. even if you're somebody who found this blog through a friend of a friend...be nosey and keep checking up on me!! every monday morning i'm going to weigh myself and then post how much i lost or gained that week. (sorry, but i'm not going to tell you my actually weight!!) my goal is to loose 78 pounds from what i was when i weighed myself on monday. so, in about 2 months when i've burned out, or thanksgiving treats are looking very enticing don't let me off the hook. maybe if i'm brave....i'll take before pics and when i reach my goal i'll post them. actually...that might make you hope i never reach my goal!! ha ha ha