Cousins Tea Party

     Today my sis-in-law, Amy, and I had a little miscommunication!  I thought we had a date to talk on the phone about an upcoming double-birthday party and she thought we had a date to meet at my house!  I had 10 minutes notice before she got here and Sarah, Dan and I went into 10,000 troop army action!!!  We sweeped through every room of the house where nobody was napping and tidied it up like a bunch of Mr. Cleans!!  I was so proud of us.  It was fun, also, because Sarah and I had decorated for fall yesterday, so the house felt festive, all tidy with pumpkin candles burning!

     Tuesday is our new tea day here after naps.  Sarah had already set the table for the 6 of us when we realized cousins were coming!  So she quickly added more plates, tea cups, cream and sugars and more cookies and peanuts!  Our favorite tea flavors here are Mint, Red Raspberry and Constant Comment (which I was thrilled to find in decaf because Jacob loves it!).

     Amy and I did our party planning while the kids all ran around playing in their cousin groups: Rachel and Leah playing ballerina mommies with dollies, Dan and Isaac playing legos or war dress-ups with guns, Lizzy and Zanna playing barbies, polly pocket and American Girl, Jacob and Naomi playing Darth Maul-Barbie-horse-who-knows-what-4-year-old-pretend.  Now that one was amazing to watch.  Jacob and Naomi are both 4 and in the past few months have become the best of friends!!  They tell each other what to pretend and they go about it, incorporating dolls, Lego Bionicles, dress-ups, stuffed animals--it is amazing!! I love seeing them together!!  As for Sarah, she usually hangs out listening to Amy and I or telling Amy EVERYTHING that is going on in our lives(holeshotting me ALL the time!), though today she did her computer time and worked on the tea food.

     The tea itself was typical:
*I had to tell the kids to talk quieter-it sounded like a 3-ring circus(Gabe was sleeping so it was just 9 kids!)
*Leah knocked over her full cup of tea which I had to wipe half the table of.
*I said to Naomi, "Naomi, please take the handcuffs off before you pick up your teacup."  Now that was a first! :-)
*The boys were shooting guns before they even left the tea table-wonder where they were while they were eating??
*Amy and I got about 3 sentences to each other the whole time.
*What we discussed had to do with the kids or medical situations.  Very typical!
*All the kids but Leah and Rachel wanted 2 cookies
*No one finished their pumpkin pie but Amy and I
*Rachel added about 8 spoonfuls of sugar to one cup of tea: I doubt she was the only one!

     So much fun!!  The kids hoped to do it once a month.  Amy and I just looked at each other and smiled!

Week 1 of Weight Watchers

  7 days later and I am convinced of Weight Watchers!
I paid roughly $9 per week for Buy One Get One months of meetings.  I think most people would be willing to pay nearly $10 to lose 5 pounds in one week!  That is what happened!!

I lost 4.8 pounds in one week and I wasn't even hungry!!

  The amazing thing to me was that we went on a trip across the state over the weekend, too!!  We were given the most delicious mint chocolate cookies(I need the recipe, Kristin!), had pizza and BBQ and went to Starbucks, Sonic and Burger King.  YET I LOST 4.8 pounds!!!!!!!  I was more careful about certain choices, but I did have a 9 point mocha, a chocolate cupcake, a large Strawberry Limeade and mozzarella sticks!!  I kept track of every bite FAITHFULLY, stayed within my point total for every day and used up my bonus 35 points per week!  Thank you, Lord, for supplying Weight Watchers to me!  I can begin to be a whole new person on the outside, as He continues to transform me on the INSIDE!!

Starting Weight Watchers

Today was day #1.

I went to my first meeting last night!  Met up with my inspiration, Cindi, there!  She has lost 35 pounds in the last 4 months and I am so proud of my dear friend!  I found out at the meeting that I am allowed to eat 35 points worth of food per day, with a 35 point bonus for each week.

I went straight home and wrote down all the food I had eaten that day and added up the points: 54!  Hmmm.  Well, it didn't seem like a lot of food!  I guess it is the quality of food I was eating!
Today I was very careful to count and portion control and at the end of the day I was FULL and had used 37.5 points!  Perfect!!

My goal is to lose 2 pounds per week.  My short term goal is 13 pounds and my ultimate goal was 65.  Marc thinks I should go for the full 86 pounds that would take me back to my 18 year old weight-pre college cafeteria!  If Cindi can lose 35 in 4 months, than maybe the full 86 isn't so ridiculous.

Now, where to fit in that exercising . . . .

My Friday

Exhausting, but fulfilling day: 

**I have the common cold (I hear it is going around the moms!?!,

**stop at the bank for cash,

**babies to sitters, 

**roller rink!!! (super fun to "catch back on" and teach the kids.  We went as a homeschool group and the kids spent most of the morning on the floor!  I told the other moms that our kids were getting an "education" in perseverance!!!),

**trip to the Doll Factory (got Leah a dolly Moses basket for her bday and Sarah got a lovely black dress for her American Girls,

**SuperTarget for desperately needed printer ink,

**home to make salad & cookies for my friend who just had a baby,

**DD's cupcakes (I got pumpkin w/ cream cheese frosting. The boys had chocolate chip and the girls had chocolate!,

**orthodontist for Sarah's 6 mo. check-up(longer brushing required!!), 

**pick up babies (thank you NANCY!!!),

**dinner to friends (did I mention it was pouring rain?  AND since I have the cold, couldn't hold the baby!), 

**our dinner (have barely shopped!  make tacos with no beans and cut up pineapple!-It'll do!), 

**family out the door to baseball game (fun for them!), 

**change pants that Leah poured water all over(she was "doing" my hair with the comb and squirt bottle--I LOVE this phase--except when they unscrew the lid and pour it in the leather chair and it pools into my pants!)

WHEW!!  

I am TIRED!!!!