As Good as it Gets

A few weeks ago I posted about the difficulty doing anything with Evelyn's hair. It still is a struggle. I have been taking it slow... first brushing her hair with a baby brush, then moving to a comb. So far, so good... but there is still no way she is letting me put a clip in it!

I thought I would try some elastic headbands today, just to see how she would do. She let me put it on.... I was shocked! But alas, it lasted only a moment and she pulled it off. She had more fun making me put it on and laughing at how silly I looked!

This is the best shot I could get in the 10 seconds I had.. she already had messed with it some!!


Maybe someday I will get to "do" her hair. It ok, tho... I LOVE LOVE LOVE just being her mom, no matter what!

On a side note, THANK YOU to all who wrote such encouraging comments about my last post and who spoke to me about it. It means a lot. I heart you all!! :)

A big weakness, A bigger challenge

WARNING: This is a brutally honest post!

I love food. I love sugar. I love salad. I love pretty much everything in between. I love to eat. I am an emotional eater, too This is one of my bigger weaknesses in life. A weakness that affects other aspects of my life. As I am getting older, it is clear to me that I need to make some serious changes to my life in this area.

This is me, 61/2 years ago, on my wedding day. I weighed about 130, wore a size 8 and felt pretty good about myself. I worked out at least 4 days a week, too. Click on them to see them better... I had to scan them in!
Then life kicked into full swing. And so did the excuses to not be as healthy. I loved being married, not having to always look my best 'cuz Doug loves me anyway. I ate a lot more, too... since I didn't necessarily eat 3 meals a day before. Now I was cooking more meals for "us", some healthy, some not. When I moved into Doug's house as his wife, I also couldn't go to the gym I used to go to (different district), so I stopped working out. The weight started to come on slowly. Then my dad died suddenly. Again... no time or energy to work out... and everyone wants to show their support with fattening food. More weight on. Then I hurt my back... another reason not to work out as hard. Yada yada yada. The list goes on. Over the years I have purchased an elliptical machine and a "total gym" for home... I use them, but not consistantly. Oh, yeah, then I got pregnant.. had Evelyn... wasn't able to breast feed (its a LONG story), and never lost the weight. I also had a BAD bought with post partum depression and went on meds. And I am home full time now, snacking on goldfish and cheese with my baby girl. A lot. As my husband says, the meds make me not care about a lot of things, like what I eat!

So today... are you ready.... I weigh almost 200lbs. I CANT BELIEVE I JUST TYPED THAT!! But its the truth. I have gained almost 70 pounds since my wedding day. How pathetic is that? I am not happy with this. I now wear plus size clothes (or my maternity clothes... nothing else fits!) My sweet husband never complains.. but I certainly don't feel like a beautiful wife AT ALL, and I know I don't look like one! My self esteem is in the pooper. Now you know why there are hardly any pictures of me on my blog... or anywhere in my house for that matter!

On a side note, I am having issues with my eczema and with sleeping. I decided to try to cut most refined sugar out of my diet for a week. Man I felt so much better... and my skin was better, too. So here is ANOTHER reason to change things up a bit.

I loath "dieting". I have not found one that "works" for me. I really believe for me its about exercise and controlling portions and fat. I have absolutely no will power. But... in order to take some weight off I need to be disciplined. The desire is there... so there... but not. the. will power. UGH!!

A big issue is that I thrive on routine. Unfortunately, I have a daughter who doesn't have one, in terms of when she wakes or naps. It could be 5am, it could be 7:30am. Every day is different. I prefer to work out in the morning... just gets my day started off right. But its hard when I can't predict what time I need to get up to do that. She does, however, go to bed at the same time every night. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and work out at night. That would mean showering before bed and in the morning (a must for me to function). This might increase the electric bill.... we are now on a tighter budget.. see.... here I go again, making excuses!

Bottom line... I need to treat my body as a temple for the Lord. He commands that. I am not obeying these days. I want to look good, feel good, and know that I am healthy. If I am made in God's image... I want to represent that well. I don't feel I am right now.

As hard as it will be, I really want to commit to getting healthy this year. Its not so much about the numbers, although it certainly can help me keep going when the numbers go down. I have not idea what this looks like, but I hope that however and whatever I do, it will change me. Physically and emotionally... and spiritually.

Ok.... I think I need to stop rambling now. If you have read this entire post, bless you! I may or may not post more on this issue

A new favorite thing... & a cute video of Evelyn

For Christmas my mom got me and my sisters this Emilie Henry
ceramic stew pot. She has one and had bragged about it, but it never crossed my mind to buy one for myself or ask for one as a gift. It was a nice surprise.



Well, let me tell you, this thing is AWESOME!! You can cook in it on the stove or in the oven, or both. I have made chicken and rice, jambalaya, bean dips, mac-n-cheese, soup, pork chops with red potatoes... lots of things... and it was so easy. One pot needed. Not to mention the chicken and pork and other meats have been cooked perfectly. AND it cleans up like a dream. Thanks mom!

Of course, I couldn't post and not mention another one of my favorite things.. Evelyn! Yesterday we went out for a walk. It was cold, but nice. Like I said in my last post, she is too busy to smile for the camera, so this is the best I could get.


Lastly, here is a video of her having fun in the tub. She LOVES the bath. I was hoping she would say bye-bye at the end, but my coaxing did not work. Anyway, I wasn't sure if I should post this.... she is naked after all. I might delete it later. But it is so sweet!! I am a bit bias, but dang... she is so cute! Enjoy!

Helmet Update #7... WE'RE DONE!!! -part 1

I am sitting here writing this as Evelyn plays.... WITHOUT her helmet on!!

We went and saw Randall the helmet guy today. He was a bit concerned about our appointment today (as was I). He made so many changes to her helmet last time... we really didn't know what to expect. But... praise the Lord, she actually improved more than he thought she would!

She now only has to wear her helmet for naps and at bedtime, basically when she is laying down. She is still off symmetry a bit in one area, but wearing it just at those times will correct the remaining issues.

I'm not as excited as I thought I would be. It's been a long haul... almost 6 months. I guess I am more relieved and thankful than I am excited. Evelyn, on the other hand, has been sqealing with joy ever since we left Randall's office. She is totally excited to have her helmet off! Hopefully it won't be a struggle to get it back on!

These aren't the best shots of her, but lately she hasn't been wanting to sit still AT ALL, especially for the camera!! Enjoy my helmet-free little bug!!







THANK YOU so very much, all of you who have been supporting us thru this time. We appreciate your love and prayers. We know that it is GOD, not the helmet, who ultimately healed her head. I'll let you know when the helmet is officially off for good... hopefully in four weeks!

OK... after writing this, I now AM excited!!

Bad hair days ahead?

One of the bummers about Evelyn having to wear her helmet is that I can't play with her hair. Granted, I am not really a "girly girl", but it would be fun to at least put a barrette in her hair or a small ponytail in it (her hair is long enough).

So, yesterday during one of her helmet breaks, I decided to try and do her hair. As you can see from the picture, Evelyn was NONE too pleased with me over it!! It looked cute at first, but then she got upset and started ripping at the bow. This is what it looked like after she messed with it!



I hope that once she gets her helmet off (hopefully next week!) we can work on getting her used to me fixing her hair. It might take a while from what happened yesterday! Maybe the "messy" look will come back in style...heehee!

Make it a great day!

December 30th, 1997... oh, what a night!

Doug and I had our very 1st date 10 years ago tonight!! I remember it very clearly...

• how nervous I was, what I wore, what he wore
• how He was the perfect gentleman, opening doors, praying at dinner, etc.
  
• that we went to Giovanni's for dinner... he had eggplant parmesan, I had manicotti.
  
• that one of the first things he said when we sat down at dinner was, "Stephanie, I think you are the best!" So sweet.
  
• how we then went and saw "Titanic" at Tigard cinema. First time seeing it. It was awesome!
• when he asked me to get his chapstick out of the glovebox as he was driving me home... what? I remember freaking out thinking that he actually might try to kiss me... he still laughs at that... he really just wanted some chapstick!! Boys!!!

Oh, what a night!! Thanks, sweetie, for making me feel so special that night... and pretty much every day since!! I love you Doug and am so glad I said yes when you asked me out!

Fun Friday

Evelyn and I had so much fun today. She is such a joyful kid who LOVES to laugh and dance and snuggle.... sometimes all at the same time! She received lots of musical toys for her birthday and Christmas and spends hours playing with all of them. It is fun to play with her, too. I just love her so much!

She also is learning at a very fast pace. Tonight was a good example. Our cat Sam was asking to be let in from outside. EVERY time he comes in, especially this time of year, we use a towel that we keep by the door to wipe his feet off. Well, E heard him crying outside and started saying "kitty kitty" (she has been saying this for a while... it was one of her first words!). As we let him in she proceeded to walk over to where the towel was, pick it up, and attempted to dry off the cat!! She totally knew what to do. SO SO cute... so smart of her, too!!

It's not the best photo, but here she is chasing after poor Sam with the towel... after we had already wiped him off!! :) He is looking up at Doug as if to say "make her go away"!



Enjoy your weekend!