Dating Ruins it ALL!!!!!

Ok, So I have been divorced for three years and I was separated for almost two years before the divorce was finalized. I dated some, but for the past three years I haven't dated at all. So that being said, I never knew how much time dating actually takes, my workouts and eating habits have suffered!!!!! Well that changed today....

Today Max (the dog) and I went on a four mile walk and I could have gone farther but he didn't seem up to the task....so we headed home. In fact he is now curled up here next to me on my bed as I write this. I am then headed to Zumba tonight and I am going to be sore tomorrow, I will not complain.....this is my fault and I must get back on track.

So the new man in my life is pretty much amazing and too good to be true! I was very hesitant, we had been talking since November and he asked me out in January, we share a lot in common and it's a little scary. Our first date consisted of dinner, which lasted two hours and I chocked twice on my rice!!!!! He kept making me laugh, is there anything sexier then a guy who makes you laugh?? I don't think so. He took me out on a weekend where I have the boys, I have never introduced them to anyone I was "dating". I had two serious relationships after their dad that went horribly wrong and they haven't met anyone else since then. But, Adam is 9 now and very perceptive and knows everything already. I thought it best to let him know that I was going out on a date, I let him ask all his questions and answered the best that I could. He asked if he could meet Dustin when he picked me up and I thought sure.....where is the harm?? So he was only here 5 mins while picking me up, he brought me a red rose...........I have never had that happen on a first date. 15 minutes after we left my mom calls to tell me that Adam is freaked out that he just met his new step dad!!!!! What a kid LOL!


So for three days that is all I heard about, me and Dustin getting married. It was kind of cute and endearing, and thankfully Dustin wasn't freaked out about this. He has been an awesome sport and the boys love him!!!!So far it's a pretty smooth ride. Other then not working out, which isn't Dustin's fault because he is trying to get healthier too as well. So, I am now recommitted and hitting the exercise hard!

The New Year

So, I sort of fell of the face of the earth. I got busy living and didn't make the time to write about it. The boys and I had an awesome Christmas. I got a bunch of new clothes that I now get to shrink out of!!!!!

I am in awe of how much we have changed since last Christmas! I am half the person that I was in 2011. They are both growing like weeds and Cole now allows us to get decent pictures with him.

I didn't allow any formal pictures to be taken last year. Poor decision in hind sight! Oh well, you can still see the difference.

New Years was awful, the boys spent it with their dad which turned out to be a blessing! I had a migraine and was in bed at 6pm!!! The neighbors then woke me up at midnight with fire crackers!!!

So on New Years Day I started strong and I haven't stopped! I went to the gym and for the first time in my life I did 20 minutes on the Elliptical and it felt like an awesome accomplishment. I also did 20 mins on the stairs, and 20 mins on the treadmill. I worked out all the rest of the week heading back to body pump. I couldn't hardly walk after that.

I have maintained working out 5-6 days a week since then. I love it, I am again addicted. I haven't seen a weight loss yet, but I am not discouraged. I am in my 18 silver jeans!!!! So inches are coming off. On Jan. 12th my mom, best friend, and I headed off to the Zac Brown Band concert. I wore a dress I bought back in September and looked pretty cute :)

I still hate my legs. I hope that this changes someday. They just seem so huge compared to the rest of me. Anyway, the night of the concert we decided to have a damn ice storm! So I basically froze to death. I ate too much, drank too much! Brandi left her car at my house and had to work at 10:30am. So I got up on Sunday and went out to drive over to her place, well there was so much ice on it, I couldn't get it off. My dad came out to help, and her husband drove her over instead and then my dad fell on the ice. He ended up in the ER with a bad muscle spasm in his back. I fell on the ice Monday and banged my elbow at Brandi's house. I did work out still though on Monday.....go me! Then yesterday, my mom calls at noon and said she fell on the ice and may have a concussion.

Well she does, so she is home with me today. Dad went back to work, so hopefully I can make it back to Zumba tonight. I hate missing. I hope that you are all doing well! I am back...so hope to catch up with you all soon :)

Cold, Cold, Cold, and Cold!

Oh, did I mention that I am COLD??? This seems to be my mantra for the past month! I am ALWAYS cold......not sure what is up with that! Maybe it's cause I have lost 78 pounds........but I will be damned if I want them back. So it's wrapped in sweaters and blankets, lots of coffee, and wool socks for me! I am loving it.

So we got an elf this Christmas and the boys are loving it. I will get some of the pictures up so that you can all see what he has been up to. The boys named him Jingle and I must admit, this is so much fun! The boys are really getting into it. They go to their Dad's this weekend so I am sure that the elf will get into some major mischief.

I am sorry that I haven't been keeping up my blog as well as I should be or keeping up with you all! Maybe that is what happens when life takes over. Mom and I did a 5K on Dec. 1st and we finished in just under an hour which is awesome. We are planning on doing a Climb for the American Lung Association where we climb 32 floors!!!! Maybe we will survive that!

After the race we did all of our Christmas decorating! We have soooo much. My best present this year has been the progress that Cole has made. He is doing the potty thing and talking soooo much more! I plan on catching up on all your lives this weekend. I hope that you are all doing well with the weight loss and still enjoying the wonderful holidays!

Election Tuesday

So there are a couple of things I want to talk about besides the election. First off, for my mom's birthday I got her tickets to go see Mary Poppins the play and it was AMAZING! We loved it and had a great time. Her best friend and her daughter went with us and it was just a great memory for all of us to make together. Secondly, my big news of the week is that I FINALLY hit the 250's it seems like this has taken FOREVER!!!!!!! I am officially 256.5 lbs and that puts me at a 73 lb loss. I can't believe how far I have come, it's amazing how much this has changed my life. I remember losing my first couple of pounds and thinking this is gonna take forever and I didn't think I could do it. I am past the half way mark now.

So about this election, I am going to vote when the boys get out of school because Adam wants to go with me. I think that is amazing! I remember going with my parents and wanting so badly to be a part of what they were doing. I do not have a political party, I vote for the person, and if I was perfectly honest, I am not entirely thrilled with either of our choices. I usually steer clear of political conversations so I will keep this vague, all I want you to do, is go VOTE!

This is a right in our country that we should exercise with pride, I don't care who you vote for as long as you do it! There are people all over the world who are dying to have this opportunity, to have a say in how their government is ran. I will proudly take my son to the polls with me today, and en still in him the importance of what we are doing.

Halloween!!!!!!!!!

So life got in the way and I haven't been blogging. This is a good thing right? That or I have had writers block and no idea what to write about until now!

So we just had Halloween, which in my house as been HUGE ever since I can remember because it is also my mom's birthday. When I was growing up she always dressed up with us which I got a kick out of, she still does and I have joined her and my kids have a BLAST.  So first we will cover costumes, because as we all know this was a big issue for me :)

We start with the boys because as you can see they are just stinking adorable. This was Cole's 2nd year going as Mario, but he needed a new costume cause he won't stop growing! It was Adam's idea that they go at the Mario Brothers.....I think it's awesome and Cole was just as excited to do it. The mustache's didn't stay on long cause they tickled, but it's ok at least I got pictures.

Here we are together and as you can see we look AMAZING! This has to be one of my favorite costumes of all time! It was sooooo much fun. So Cole didn't do much trick or treating, he went to one house. It was REALLY cold. Adam on the other hand, we walked about 3-4 miles and he filled two pumpkins full of candy so there is plenty for the both of them. He had a blast, and so did I which is all that matters!

After trick or treating we had cupcakes for Gram's birthday! I made them all by myself, very yummy and I only had one.

As I think I wrote in an earlier post, I have a huge fear of clowns. My friend Erin came down from Chicago a couple weekends ago and we went to a scary house at an old Insane Asylum near here, which is thought to be really haunted. It was totally scary.....

As you can see, this guy was trying really hard to get me to look at him. I never did!

So Halloween wasn't all sweets and games, I got some exercise in too....

This was a VERY cold morning up in Naperville with my 5k running partner Aunt Suz....we had fun and I have my last 5k on Dec. 1st for the year. I am pretty excited and I am down 7 more pounds! With the holidays approaching I am focusing on staying on track and the family time! Not the food :)

10 Things Thursday

1. On Facebook I keep seeing all kinds of statistics about Autism. Statistics are basically a crock pile of horse manure. Especially when people just throw numbers out and give you no information. So 1 in 88 kids are diagnosed with Autism. No, Autism is not on the rise people....and no these numbers shouldn't scare us! The truth is that we are better at diagnosing Autism then we ever have been. Catching it early is key people!!!!! What should scare us is the lack of accessibility of the therapies to help these kids learn to cope with their sensory needs!

2. Why is it that when you get divorced some Dad's seem to think that they can do LESS??? Why wouldn't you want to call your kids EVERYDAY!!??

4. I love my coffee...but I might have a slight addiction to it. I am now on cup number 4!

5.  My friend is coming down from Chi-town this weekend with her son and we are heading to an awesome haunted house! So excited.

6. Fred water rocks my world!

7. I hate dating!

8. I am so madly in love with my kids it scares me. Except when Adam says "Let me tell you, I am not putting my shirts away." Really little boy? You shouldn't mess with your mother, she can make you miserable! LOL

9. I don't think that me and this running thing are getting along, but I am determined to conquer this damn thing!

10. I am truly thankful for all the wonderful people in my life who support me and help me whenever I need it.       

24 years ago.....

This is Adam Harris...yes my Adam is named after him. He was 3 years old when he was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma. I was a mere 7....such tender ages to experience something so profound. You know that question that you always get asked...."Who is your hero?" Mine was never an athlete, or movie star, or politician. It was Adam. The strength and faith that this little boy taught me has carried me through the years.

I was always annoyed by my little brother just like any other sister. We fought....even after he was diagnosed. I actually looked at him one rainy day while playing in the garage and said "It's ok, cause when you die your trucks will be mine." How awful, I still feel guilty for that to this day. The horrible things we say as children.

Today it has been 24 years since Adam died....I was 8. I remember vividly that day....and night. It forever changed everything.....it was my loss of innocence which my sister would tell you is where my fear of clowns come from! Yes, I deal with everything with a bit of humor. I was never the invincible teen, I knew what could happen.

Cherish every moment, make sure you do today and say today what you need to. Tomorrow may not come....always kiss your kids goodbye, good night, and just for no reason. God and I struggle back and forth with my anger and my pain, but today will be a good day! Adam my have only lived for four years but the point is he lived. He loved everyone and wanted to save everything. I commend my parents for allowing Adam to be involved in his treatment, I realize as a parent now how difficult it had to be to allow treatment to stop....even if there was very little hope of success. I no longer blame them...they did an amazing job thinking of what was best for Adam as well as me!

I am who I am today....because I knew this amazing little man! All my love is sent to you in heaven today!