Brock's 6th Birthday Party

My niece Stephanie's son Brock celebrated his 6th birthday with a party at their home on May 27. The girls had a blast!! They rented a huge inflatable water slide for the party. The girls started squealing as soon as they saw it. Here's a photo of the inflatable:



I wasn't surprised that Bridget made a beeline for the slide and was ready to get on it immediately -- she is such a daredevil! I was a bit surprised that Tessa wasn't scared to come down, either. Here's a pic of tiny Tessa coming down that monster slide:



Here's Allie coming down the slide:



After most of the revelers had left, Stef and my sister Martha braved the slide. I didn't get a good photo of Martha coming down, but here's a pretty good one of Stef:



In addition to the slide, Stef and Johnny have a trampoline, swing set, and fishing pond. There was lots to do! Here's a pic of Tessa and Bridget getting a ride around the property with Ashlyn at the wheel:



There was also food, cake and ice cream, birthday-present opening, and a birthday boy who I didn't show here because I didn't get any good photos of him. Maybe one day my photography skills will improve . . . Anyhow, thanks so much to the Davis clan for a fun-filled day!!

Halfway to Orlando

My brother-in-law Jimmy used mapquest to get directions from his home in Du Quoin, Illinois, to our house and to Orlando, Florida. He discovered that our house is within 1 mile of being exactly half-way from his home to Orlando. Funny, huh?

He and his family spent the night with us on their way down to Orlando and on their way back home. We loved getting to see them all. Bridget and Anthony had lots of fun together -- they are the same age. Vincent and Dominick had both grown so much since we'd seen them in January!!

Here are some photos:

Anthony clowns around with Bridget and Tessa (that's Vincent in the background):



Dwayne and Dominick:



All the kids -- Vincent, Bridget, Dominick, Anthony and Tessa (left to right):

Weight Watchers Week 12 -- Down 4 Lbs.!

Yippee! I broke my "fateau" this past week. I decided to try "Wendie's Plan". It's a plan someone on weight watchers came up with to shake up stagnant metabolisms. It involves using WW flex points so that you eat a lot of points one day a week, then your minimum points the next day, a few extra the next day, etc. It makes sense to me because it keeps your body guessing as to what you're doing so that your metabolism doesn't slow down to match your lowered calorie intake. I like it because it gives you one day to eat a lot of points. This past weekend we ate at Applebees for Mother's Day. I chose Applebees specifically because they have a weight watchers menu and I wanted to be "good" and get back on track. Well, I did eat a WW entree. But I also helped the girls eat some mozzarella sticks and I didn't stick to the WW menu for dessert. So, I know I ate more than my points allowance.

The next day, I decided I'd try the Wendie Plan and use Mother's Day as my high point day, then take it from there. And it worked! I lost 4 pounds last week!! This is amazing for me -- I've never lost this much in one week. Oh, yeah, and I didn't exercise any last week because I was on a deadline project for work and didn't have time. Can't believe I lost 4 lbs. in a week without exercising. I am going to try the plan again this week and see if I get similar results.

I am now 15 lbs. down with 15 to go! Woo hoo!!!

Bridget's Preschool Graduation/Last Day of School

Bridget graduated from preschool Monday, May 14. It was a really cute ceremony. The kids wore white caps and gowns and marched onstage to the tune of "Pomp and Circumstance." Bridget's teacher, Ms. Heather, handed her the diploma and posed with her for a picture. Unfortunately, my photo came out really blurry and orangey in color -- operator error, I'm sure. I did snap a cute pic of Bridget in her cap and gown after graduation. Here it is:



Her last day of preschool was Wednesday, May 16. Her class had a pizza party at 11 a.m. Parents and siblings were invited, so Tessa and I went to the party. It was really sweet. The kids said the Pledge of Allegiance all on their own, sang the days of the week and also a couple of other songs. Here's a photo of Bridget with her friend Sarah:



Ms. Heather gave each of the kids a beautiful memory book. She had been taking photos of each of the kids throughout the year and put together a binder with photos of all their events throughout the school year. It was so thoughtful. Dwayne and I really loved looking at all the photos.

On May 10, Bridget, Tessa and I went to an open house at W.C. Abney Elementary, where she will attend kindergarten next year. Bridget loved seeing the classrooms, teachers and other kids. She was thinking that as soon as she finished her last day of preschool, she'd be going to kindergarten. I'm trying to explain to her the concept of a summer vacation. So far, she isn't excited at the prospect, but I'm going to treasure every day spent with her. I know she will adjust fine to kindergarten, but I'm not sure how well Mama is gonna do being separated from her 5 days a week . . .

Mother's Day

Dwayne took us out to Applebee's for dinner on Mother's Day. This was really a sacrifice for him because he has a big pet peeve against Applebees. It is the only restaurant chain that he and I have walked out of twice due to slow service. I also walked out of Applebees on another occasion when I went out to dinner with my sisters and their daughters. But I figured we've never visited the Hiram Applebees, so we shouldn't pre-judge this establishment. Turns out we made a good choice. We had a very nice waitress. She was so sweet to the girls. Everyone liked their food. The girls especially liked the mozzarella sticks, as you can see by these photos:





When I told Tessa we were going to Applebees, I told her it was the restaurant Ricky Bobby went to with his family in the movie "Talladega Nights." She asked me if we were going to see Ricky Bobby there. I said probably not, but you never know. After we sat down, Tessa noticed a wall of Nascar photos. She loudly proclaimed, "I see Ricky Bobby! I see Ricky Bobby!" I explained to her that the photo was of a real race car driver, not Ricky Bobby, but that he did kinda look like him. It was so funny!

Our table was near the cash register. The girls saw our waitress putting money in the register and walked up to it to ask her what she was doing. She gave each of them a quarter! Tessa had the idea to make a monocle out of her quarter. I tried to take her photo, but the quarter kept slipping. Bridget was able to hold the quarter in her eye long enough to get this picture:



We went home stuffed and lazy and chilled the rest of the evening. It was a very nice day.

Weight Watchers Week 11

At my weigh-in this morning, I lost 1 pound, which means I am back to the 11 pound total loss I had 3 weeks ago. Kinda frustrating, but I've been eating out the past two weekends, so it's to be expected. Though I'd love to be treated on Mother's Day this weekend, I think I will do something besides eating out again. I need to stay on track. In case you're wondering . . . I know these weight watchers posts are boring, but it's something I'm doing to motivate myself. Sharing my results every week gives me a sense of accountability to the two or three people who read my blog. 11 pounds down, 19 pounds to go (again) . . .

Weight Watchers Weeks 9 & 10

I think I've reached a fat-eau (they call it a plateau, but I like my term better) or something with my weight watchers. Well, I haven't counted every point for the past two weeks due to unusual circumstances, so it's probably not a legitmate plateau, just a case of me not being as conscientious as I should be. I was stressed all week before Bridget's recital and I actually used all my flex points. I was still "on plan", but barely. When I weighed in on April 27, I had gained 3 lbs.

On April 28, I went to Dwayne's ESOP meeting with him, where a buffet lunch was served. I have no idea how many points I consumed. I didn't pig out majorly, but I did have dessert. That whole weekend was a wash because we had company in town for Bridget's recital and I didn't want to be strict about my diet. I figured I'd get back on plan on Monday, April 30. And I did. When I weighed in on May 4, I had lost 2 of the 3 gained pounds.

I was really hoping I'd be back on track and lose the other pound I gained, and maybe a bit more, this week. Now, I am really dreading weighing in on Friday. Last weekend was my birthday, so we went out to eat on Saturday. I had the classic nachos at Chili's, but no appetizer. I shared part of a chocolate shake with Tessa, but together we didn't drink more than 1/4 of it. I didn't even eat popcorn at the movie Saturday (though I did sneak a few of Tessa's M&Ms). So, I thought I was doing okay. But, I feel so fat this week.

I am staying on plan as far as points, but have only exercised one day this week. I have two work-at-home projects going on at the same time, and am having trouble finding enough hours in the day to keep my work on schedule, spend time with my husband and kids, and keep the house running smoothly. As I sit for too long at the computer, I can literally feel my azz getting wider. Ugh!! It's not all bad, though. I am so grateful that I can sit on my porch and do work on my laptop while I keep an eye on the kids. It is so nice to be able to work outside!! And we really need the dough, so I am very grateful for the work.

I've been trying to mix up some of my regular food choices and eat a little more one day and a little less the next day to shake up my metabolism, but I really don't think it's working. Whatever happens, I'm just going to stick with the program and hope the weight starts coming off again. 10 pounds down, 20 to go . . .