Since I haven't posted in what feels like forever, I thought I'd grace you with a pictoral post of my bratty, bratty cats.

As you know, I'm a huge fan of Simon's cat videos on you tube.  I've even got Lia hooked on them! She loves everything cat related.  The easiest way to ensure she eats her cereal is to plop her down and turn on you tube. 

We always get a big laugh out of what a brat Simon's cat is.

Well this morning I woke up thinking I was in a real life Simon's cat strip.

This is what it's supposed to look like:

This is what it looked like after 2 real life Simon cats brats got through with chasing each other all over.

And these are the culprits....they look so cute and harmless don 't they?

Buggers! lol

50 Shades of Awesome!

So excited to get on the scale this morning and see that I am down 15 pounds!  I refuse to weigh myself every week.  The last weigh in was on the 3rd of February and then it was that time of the month the next week and then this past weekend we had lasagna and I had, over 2 days, 2 servings of ice cream, 2 small pieces of pie AND 3 of Chrissy's brownies.  Good grief lol  

She made the brownies with a congrats to me written on it as I just passed 2 years smoke free!!!  2 years wow.  I've never felt so free.

Jenn and I did the math to see just how many cigarettes I HAVEN'T smoked...OMG are you ready for this??  On average I smoked approximately 40 cigarettes a day.  Times that by 2 years...it comes out to 29,200.  I was floored! Because I bought them at the reserve the cost was half of what you pay at the store so I saved $5840.00.  

Awesome.

Did our taxes for the first time with Turbo Tax.  I didn't have to pay for it because one of Jay's coworkers gave it to me when she was done.  You can do up to 10 returns.  It was so, so easy, and the return is back in less than 2 weeks!  Between me and hubby, we get back over a grand.

Awesome!

Our boy is home, thriving and growing like a weed!  He's so strong! He's been holding his head up since he was 2 weeks old.  So curious, looking around at everything and everyone.  He started smiling last week when we talk to him and that's the earliest of all 3 kids.  He's adorable and I love him to pieces.  I have to get all my lovies in cos it looks like this will be the last one for them.  Over to YOU Chrissy!! lol

Lia is a bit jealous but for the most part considers him to be HER baby.  She loves to pat him to burp him and hold him and help wipe the poop off his bum even though she's totally offended by the mess and wrinkles her nose through the whole ordeal lol

We just sent off another 12 post dated cheques to the landlord so she's happy with us and we're happy living here.  Soon it will be spring and I can't wait to see all the tulips coming up, plus all the bulbs I planted last fall. 

Life is good and getting better all the time!

Awesome!

The long road home

We have had the most trying traumatic day ever today.  Supposed to be happy happy joy joy, we get to take our boy home.  Come get him they said, he can be discharged they said.  So I left work early and downtown we headed.  First problem was, oh well he has to sit in the car seat for an hour so we can monitor that he can indeed sit in it.  Go have lunch and when you come back it will be done and we just have to get the discharge papers.

So we go have lunch, still excited to be taking him home.  Come back to be told oh the doctor will be here soon, 230 then 3.  At 345 I decide I need a coffee.  I come back to find Jenn in tears cos the doc said neurology wants more tests, they don't want him to leave.  

And now I was seriously pissed off.  By 5 pm we'd been there over 4 hours and I finally told the nurse to go get the doctor or we would bundle the boy up and take him home discharge papers or not.  Then we got some action.  The charge nurse, the neurology doctor took us into a room to talk to us.

The long and short of it is this.  They thought it was X virus, positive in fact and that's why they wanted to discharge him.  But they made that decision before the results were in.  Caught with egg on their face cos the tests for X virus came back NEGATIVE.  So they were scrambling to cover their asses.  Didn't want to do us and him an injustice, couldn't in good conscience let him go without turning over every stone to find out why  blah blah fucking blah.

We told them flat out, we live in Brampton, I've lost time off work, the parking, the traffic etc etc can't you just order the tests and we can be on our way.  They finally agreed, they paid for our dinner, our parking, did the tests and finally finally after 8 1/2 hours we escaped with our boy.

I was never so freaking happy to be gone.  The air is like dust it's so dry in there.  The despair and resignation on the faces of the parents, the staff that are for the most part competent but lack so badly any personality.  

I'm sick of it, so sick of it, so glad to be home, I didn't even take a pic of him in the car seat for his first ride home.  

It doesn't matter, what matters is he is home with us.

Our boy comes home!!!

Our boy is coming home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We bring him home tomorrow afternoon!  We can't wait!!! Finally my bubbie is coming home.  1 Day short of being 2 weeks old.  It's been the longest 2 weeks of our lives!

Updates

I thought I'd better update before the update reads like a novel!

On the weight loss front, I'm doing really well.  I've lost 10.6 pounds since boxing day.  It's slow going but I'm building muscle and going to the gym religiously.  I continue to record what I'm putting in my mouth and I find that keeps me focused and accountable.  One thing that I've found helpful is scotch mints of all things.  After dinner especially,  I always feel the craving for something sweet.  So I pop 2 in my mouth and it takes care of that craving completely and since I've cut back so dramatically with my sugar intake I can afford a couple of mints a day.  I've been eating more fish, creating recipes from ground chicken and eating veggies constantly.  I'm proud to say I haven't bought take out like mcd's or pizza or anything like that since before Christmas!  Now that's an accomplishment! lol

Jenn had the baby.  He weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces.  Unfortunately, he had a bowel movement in utero and swallowed meconium which compromised his lungs. They sent him to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto on oxygen.  After 4 days they sent him back to Brampton hospital.  He was off it and eating from a bottle and doing well and then suffered some seizures.  Back to sick kids he went.  They've run a huge number of tests and have ruled out epilepsy and blood clots and brain damage.  Thank god.  They believe at this stage that he has a viral infection.  They will be meeting with the neurologist today to find out what the treatment will be.

You can't even imagine how fucking terrified we've been.  I've had so much time off work, travelling back and forth to hospitals, the tears and anger and despair and fear.  The fear is the worst.  The waiting for answers, the desire to just smuggle him out under our coats.  

It was put into perspective for us on Friday though.  We met 3 women whose babies have been in ICU for months.  Babies who were born at 1 pound, 2 pounds, babies whose intestines were on the outside and had to be slowly put back in.  A woman who lives near us who has gone to Toronto every day for 3 months to express breast milk for her baby.  A woman whose son has kidney problems, intestines in the wrong place, brain issues.  All this and she has 3 children at home, one of whom is a dwarf.  Like oh my god, there but for the grace of God go we.  It could be worse, so so much worse.

We're hoping that he will be brought back to Brampton in the next day or so.  Sick kids is a level 3 care hospital and Brampton is level 2.  He was at sick kids to get rushed through the tests and MRI he needed.  If he's not critical,  they will send him back.  He's off the oxygen and back on formula feeding so it won't be too much longer down there. 

We just want him home.  He's got Jenn's double cowlick and Lia's pout, Jason's long skinny legs and a little nubby nose.  He's adorable and I can't wait to have him here to give him unlimited lovies to be able to hold him anytime.

So, one day coming out of the underground parking garage downtown, after visiting him, I was so upset that he was there that I misjudged the distance and ripped off my side mirror on the wall coming out.  The dealership wanted 450ish to replace it and huge thanks go out to my soninlaw Cory for saying hell no and hunted around online til he found one for 109 including tax and shipping and he put it in in 10 minutes!!  And he replaced my front headlight that blew as well.  Altogether he saved me 400 bucks so I owe him the dinner of his choosing and a HUGE public thank you for being such a stand up guy!!

Well that's my update for now.  This pic is from when he was first born.  I want one without the feeding tube and hopefully Jenn will get one today.

Tuesday Giggle

I love these little cartoons and sayings on Facebook. This one made me laugh out loud and sputter my coffee so I had to share it lol

Losing is the New WINNING!

My new start is off to a fabulous start!

On December 26th I got on the scale and was fucking horrified to see I had ballooned up to 180.6!  Not only was I horrified, I burst into tears and went on a rant about how I smoked for 35 years and I had put on 1 pound for every year I smoked since I stopped!  35 pound weight gain?!?!   Holeee sheeeeit!

So after cancelling my membership with Curves, joining Good Life, meeting with a personal trainer, using the pool and equipment, changing up my diet considerably, I'm thrilled to say I'm down 8 pounds to 172.4!! I still have a long way to go but I'm so happy that it's working.

I think the diet change is whats helping the most at this point.

I've cut out a lot of things and added a lot of things.  Probably the most significant thing I've removed from my diet is the amount of sugar I use.  I really had no idea how much I was using.  I drink diet pop and have for years and years.  I was asked why bother drinking diet if I'm ordering McD's but the fact is I stopped drinking regular pop in the mid 80's simply cos I found it too sweet.  I drink crystal light all the time.  The hidden sugar?  In my coffee of all places!

I thought, and said as much, yes, but I only use 1 tsp.  Then the trainer asked me yea but how many do you drink a day?  How many on the weekend?  Okay I tried it with 1/2 tsp and it was horrid tasting!  Then I realised that it was more like TWO tsps when I physically measured it out using measuring spoons and that's why it tasted so bitter with only 1/2 tsp.  I started making it a bit weaker and it's easier to drink  Anyway so I did the math to see just how much I was using and OMG !  5 coffees a day, 5 days a week, 8 coffees a day on the weekend.  2 sugars per coffee, that's 82?! teaspoons of sugar a week!!!  Gahhh!  Times that by 52 weeks in a year and it's 4,264 tsps of sugar a year !!!!  Fuck me lol

Crazy isn't it?  I could use sweetener but I find it leaves a horrible taste when mixed with coffee and I don't want to ruin my coffee with it. I like my coffee and I'll drink it weaker so I can stand it with only a bit of sugar.  I will eventually phase the sugar out of my coffee but baby steps for now.

The other big change is incorporating a huge amount of vegetables into my diet.  I've cut back dramatically on bread and grains, replacing it with veggies and protein.  I make heart healthy soup using lentils and beans, egg white noodles, cabbage and other veggies.  Every weekend I've spent making things for the coming week. Sauce for my spaghetti squash made with ground chicken and rinsed to remove all the fat.  I use heart healthy extra virgin olive oil and spices and herbs and roast my veggies.  I cut down on potatoes and corn and anything that has a high glycemic rating.  The trick is to eat like you are diabetic and the weight just falls off!

Jenn was close to having gestational diabetes and her doc sent her to the hospital for a class on how to manage your blood sugar, how much sugar is in certain carbs, she tests her blood 3 or 4 times a day and is thrilled to have lost some weight (although a little concerned that she was losing weight while pregnant, til the doc assured her she's fine). She looks better, less puffy, her skin looks better, she's eating like she's diabetic and it works!

Yesterday I had a craving for just plain veggie soup so as soon as I got home I made a huge pot.  Yummy lunch for today!  I also had an idea for a heart healthy shephards pie.  Usually it's made with ground beef and gravy, veggies and mashed potatoes dripping in butter and topped with cheese. 

Can't you hear your arteries hardening??? lol

So, I fried up some ground chicken into crumbles, rinsed it when it was cooked, added onions and mushrooms and a can of chicken rice soup.  For the veggies I roasted some cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower, and I stopped it with roasted acorn squash.  I will heat it through today and try it.  If it works I will buy some salt reduced soup to add to the meat next time.  Canned soup is terrible for the amount of salt they use but since I added no other salt to it, it should be ok.

Although I have a cold at the moment, I feel better than I have in a long time.  I'm loving the exercise, even the hated treadmill, and the new diet.  I was gonna post my measurements, I have them but damned if I can find it right now.  I'm sure once I CLEAN this place it will appear!

For now it's breakfast time, egg fried in no stick spray and a bowl of  roasted veggies and a slice of whole grain toast.  Yummy.

Then it's off to get the oil changed in the car and hopefully Jenn doesn't go into labour when we go shopping later!

Either way, and more about that later, by this time next week I will be the proud OWNER of a new baby grandson!!  Can't wait to squeeeeze mah bebe!!!