MommyWeighLess

Ages 11 months to 13 years and they loved to play together! Dustin said something to me one night that has resonated with me since. He told me that one of the hardest parts about losing John to him, was that Evan lost what was supposed to be his life long best friend. He told me how he loved growing up with a brother to play with. John was supposed to be his buddy, his 'get into trouble and giggle' playmate. He was the only other boy in a swarm of girls. They should be elbows deep in the Christmas tree together, rearranging Grammy's Christmas village... We are all consumed in our lives and trying to deal with our grief right now. Sometimes it is hard to think outside of your own heartache and remember that there are others around you trying to deal with this tragedy themselves. Among us, there are the far more innocent and confused...our babies. The ones that are still here, living, in a very hard and confusing time. We forget in the midst of the sadness that they hav...

Every year, since Scarlett's first Halloween, we have made a trip to Dunnellon in Florida to the Pickin' Patch . This is a great place to take your family and enjoy some fall festivities. They have live pumpkins on the vine that you can cut yourself to take home and decorate. They also have a hayride, hay slides for kids, a corn maze, a sunflower field, and all kinds of good fun for the family. They have it set up beautifully for photo opportunities as well. I always make sure to take advantage of the scenery to get snaps of the kids. It is priced so affordably that it is more than worth the trip. Anyone three and up is $3.00 and the pumpkins range from $4.00 to $30.00 plus. They have ornamental pumpkins, jack-o-lantern pumpkins, sunflowers, white pumpkins (which are BEAUTIFUL), and they also sell gourds. There are rows upon rows of pumpkins! The kids love it! It's become a tradition for our family. This year would have been John's first trip. He was so tiny a...

My sweet little Scarlett Rose turned four a couple of weeks ago. My sweet little Scarlett Rose started Pre-K on Monday. My sweet little Scarlett Rose started showering all by herself. My sweet little Scarlett Rose now puts herself to bed at night. My sweet little Scarlett Rose.. .please so down ...you are growing up way too fast! Mommy can't pick up the pieces of my heart quick enough to keep up anymore. Becoming a parent is amazing. But being a parent sucks... a lot . It is like we go from holding these beautiful little bundles of baby goodness that rely on you for every. single. tiny. thing ...to BOOM! ...little persons all their own that don't require your services anymore. Tossed to the trash like a used tissue. But I love that feeling. Confusing, right? I know. You should... or could ...be in my shoes. I love seeing her blossom into this amazing person. I love that she is hard headed and independent. Those things will take her so far in this life. I lo...

I am a mother . I have two absolutely beautiful, amazing, full of life and wonder...toddlers. Scarlett is vivacious. She is a red-headed spitfire with a daily goal of trying to argue her father and I into oblivion. And Evan...well he is a person all his own too. He spends his days climbing, toddling, falling, yelling, hitting, playing, eating...and well...he is just a very busy little man. After a 10 hour work day, I come home to these marvelous little creatures., and I look forward to it all day. But once I am actually home, and chasing those little tyrants...I often have selfish thoughts. I have seen and heard enough to assume that most parents do. It is only natural to want to do things, or have things just for yourself. Yet, being a mother, when I do want to do things, or have things (even just alone time)...I feel incredibly guilty for it. You are taught from a young age that when you "grow up" and have children, that you are supposed to sacrifice and do ...

I have been working out regularly, and by working out...I mean walking...while pushing 50-70 pounds worth of kids and stroller...not to mention the diaper bag...my bag...and whatever else they drag along. We usually walk a minimum of 1.5-5 miles every other day. But my weight is not coming off as fast as it did when I did weight training. And now that we are a one income family again, it just is not in the budget for a new gym membership, let alone the gallons of over priced gas it takes to get there! That all said...Dustin has an Uncle that has a really...really  nice in home gym. I have a really big green eyed monster in me right now. Anyways...I decided to call him up and see if he would mind if I came over a few days a week and used his weight equipment. Of course he said yes, and I went that evening. And the next day... I. COULD. NOT .WALK. I. COULD. NOT. SIT. I. COULD. NOT. LIFT. MY. ARMS. And I love every bit of it. I forgot how horribly awesome DOMS or del...

As you may know I have two very beautiful and perfect reasons for getting healthy and changing my life. I do it not only for myself but for them, and Dustin, so that I am around to see all their great milestones and achievements in life. When I began this journey, I was the only one involved. I made myself separate meals, worked out alone, and didn't push to make it a family change. Then I began to realize that it was making it ten times harder for me. All the bad food laying around tempting me. Seeing them soak into the tv and couch. I knew if I didn't make this a family thing, Scarlett would be like me in 20 years. Overweight and trying to figure it all out via Google. I started slowly weeding junk out of their diets. We never allowed her soda or much candy anyways, so thankfully I didn't have to kick those bad habits. I started cooking more healthy meals with lots of veggies. Introduced her to quinoa...which she loves. Included her in the cooking process. And poor Dust...