A few birthday pics for now

Ben is ONE!

I cannot believe it.

Happy Birthday to my little darling.

He was born at 1.03 am on 28th February, weighing in at 7lb 13 oz (not bad for 37 weeks, 5 days!)

We're going out to celebrate so I'll post pictures later.

Soundtrack of your life?

Shamelessly stolen from my friend, Sarah.

If your life was a movie, what would the soundtrack be? So, here's how it works:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, etc).
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press Play.
4. For every question, type the song that's playing.
5. When you go to a new question, press the Next button.
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool.
7. Don't skip songs.

What I'm Listening to(tm):

(1) Opening credits: "The Robbery, Javert's Intervention" Les Miserables
(2) Waking up: "Here With Me" Dido
(3)First day at school: "Finale" Miss Saigon
(4) Fight song: "Castle on a Cloud" Les Mis
(5) First Date: "Bleeding Heart" Leona Lewis
(6) Breaking up: "Overture" Miss Saigon
(7) Happiness: "Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh" Phantom of the Opera
(8) Life is okay: "Chasing Cars" Snow Patrol
(9) Mental breakdown: "Arms of an Angel" Sarah McLachlan
(10) Driving: "Say My Name" Destiny's Child
(11) Flashback: "Down Once More" Phantom
(12) Getting back together: "Satisfy You" Puff Daddy/R Kelly
(13) Prom: "Overture:Hannibal" Phantom
(14) Graduation: "Left Outside Alone" Anastacia
(15) Wedding: "Since U Been Gone" Kelly Clarkson
(16) Honeymoon: "When You Believe" Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey
(17) Birth of a child: "Suddenly" Angry Anderson (OMG, lol)
(18) Final battle: "Hearts on Fire" Rocky 4
(19) Death scene: "Fly Me To The Moon" Nat King Cole
(20) Funeral song: "She Bangs" Ricky Martin
(21) End credits: "The Way You Look Tonight" Westlife

I think I have too many musicals on my Ipod for this to work properly.

Play along!

OMG, size 10!

So, I still don't think I've lost actual weight, but all of my jeans are literally falling down when I walk. I can get them on and off even if they are fastened. I tried some of my old size 10 pants on which were not fastening no matter what so I was very disgruntled and confused.

The kids went to my mam's yesterday so I met Tony for lunch then when he went back to work, went shopping. I picked a few size 10's (US size 8) and even went to the fitting rooms - I NEVER try anything on, I hate it, but I'm sick of returning things. The first pair I tried I couldn't even get past my thighs so I just didn't understand. The next two pairs fit!! I just hate clothes, I mean they were even the same brand so it's ridiculous how much variation there is in the same size. I tried a nice loose fitting blouse which fit! Clingy size 10 does NOT fit ;-).

I bought 2 pairs of jeans and the top. And a skirt, but I'm taking that back, changed my mind. I haven't been size 10 in like 6 years. There is definite room for improvement. They aren't uncomfortable, but there isn't that much room to spare, so hopefully this exercise business is finally starting to work. Realistically I know I am never going to be any smaller than a 10, I'm just not built that way. I still need to work on this stomach flab, it's awful. I know there is fat there, but it seems like the extra skin is the problem and I can't see a way that could ever be flat (or somewhere close!). Oh well.

"Very dirty hands"

That's what Katie has just said as I'm uploading these pictures, lol. She was colouring in yesterday when I rang Tony to arrange to meet him for lunch. Jack hates when you call someone so I stepped out into the passage so he couldn't see. This is what I came back to, she was very proud. D'oh.


He is a little cheeky terror :)

My little Diva

Strange crawling boy -

Ben pulling up

I refuse to sleep -

An impromptu first - first time pulling up :)

I don't know if I like this-

Ok, I REALLY don't like this!

Jack's 2nd surgery pics

Pre surgery in playroom


Post op, chilled out!

Lots of pictures, take two.

I'm so bad at getting around to doing things. I blame lack of time, but maybe I'm just lazy.

Here are the rest of the pictures from last week before my camera battery ran out.

The best part of baking-

Katie's cheek injury -

Jinxed myself

It is all Jess' fault when I commented on her blog about baby sleeping habits. Even as a baby, Katie never moved around her cot, she never rolled over, to this day she just sleeps on her back where you put her. Jack likes so sleep on his front, but doesn't really move around his bed. Until this week, Ben was the same. He'd sleep on his back and not move, sometimes he's push himself up to the top of the cot, but he'd still just stay in one place.

Now. Oh boy. The kid is everywhere. Since he started crawling, he is crying all the time, sitting up in his cot, crying, pulling up to his knees... did I say crying? Last night he was sideways, face down with his head jammed into the corner. He won't nap. I quietly open the door to see if he's just crying because he's tired or if he's stuck in some position and he's usually in a crawling position or sitting up sobbing.

Poor little guy.

Edit - so I went up just now with my camera expecting him to be sitting up, which he was. Took a couple of pics of him as I don't have many of him in bed, then he STOOD UP against the rails! All the way. I'm just documenting his "firsts" with my blog, so I was very happy I had the camera to capture it. Time to remove all of his toys from the cot. I doubt he could climb, but better to be safe than sorry. I'll upload the picture later.

Leave a message!!!

I hate talking on the phone, but even I would leave a message if there was no answer after I'd called someone a few times. I have caller ID, I don't answer unavailable numbers. I get lots of calls because of Jack and sometimes it is just a total pain and I don't want to deal with things right then and there - he's with me, so it's not like he's at school and someone needs to contact me, I'd answer then. Yet, people rarely leave a message and it drives me nuts. I have 3 kids aged 4 and under, it is not convenient to answer the phone sometimes and to just keep ringing and ringing is annoying, especially when I don't know who it is. If you really want to speak to me, tell me who you are and I'll ring you back in peace!!

My daughter

Is just the cutest little doll. We had a girls afternoon. I took her swimming, we haven't been for quite some time and she loved it, she just loved it. She jumped in the pool all by herself from the side, with me to catch of course and frequently said "I love this swimming, mammy!"

When I told her we were going swimming and dropped the boys off, every 2 minutes she would ask "going swimming now?" She didn't want to get out, we did have some tears there. We then went to the library and she went on one of those Bob the Builder machine ride thingies. It was so nice to do something just for her.

He pulled up!!

Katie had an accident on the sofa so we had to remove the cushions/seats/whatever they're called, so it was lower than usual. Ben then decided to crawl up to it and pull himself to stand!! Yay, Ben! He has Katie beat by about 2 months :). He hasn't managed to stand up against anything tall yet, but it's a start. Today he stood up against the bottom stair tread - time to get the baby gate closed! His feet and ankles are still very weak, so I don't know if that's something that will improve with more practice.

I'm going to shut up now

I finished my running programme on Tuesday. I think it was supposed to be over 6 weeks, but I did it in 4 weeks 2 days. Oh well. I ran all 25 minutes.

My treadmill totals since the beginning

Time - 584 minutes (did I really spend almost 10 hours running!)
Distance - 58.4 miles
Calories - 2337 calories

I'm going to keep going with it, but it's up to me how long to run and how I mix it up, rather than going by my chart. Wednesday Jack was in hospital, but it was my rest day anyway and yesterday I was just ill so I did double today. I ran 3.2 miles in 30 minutes (my problem is I have to "beat" myself so had to outperform the previous 25 minutes), walked for 2, ran for 8, walked 2, ran 3. Total 4.6 miles in 45 mins. I also did 10 miles on the elliptical. Totally crazy, but I just felt I had to keep going.

All of this time, just 1 stupid pound lost. I was making the mistake of weighing myself every morning, so I haven't weighed since Monday. I'm going to try *really* hard not to get on the scales until, say... a month. Mind you, I think I'll be so gutted if by then I still haven't lost weight, I just don't get it. I feel, why bother (but I will keep going).

Anyway, I'm still going to track in my spreadsheet, but am not going to post about it regularly, it's too depressing, lol.

Happy Valentines!

I got some nice cards and some lovely perfume.

It was so funny, I went shopping (food) yesterday and the "Valentines Aisle" was just filled with guys leaving it until the last minute to look for gifts. It was just hilarious because it was all men.

All is well

Jack's op went well. He was in pre-op for almost an hour though, which annoyed me. It was hard to keep him occupied that long. If they weren't ready, why not just leave him on the ward. He didn't like waking up this time, but eventually he brightened up.

They removed some k-wires and repositioned and re-casted him. I didn't see anything as it was all in theatre and didn't get to speak to the doctor again, so I don't know his current progress. They were more than happy for him to come home after a few hours. He has been fine ever since, like nothing even happened!

He goes back in 4 weeks to get the rest of the wires removed and get casted for his AFO's, then will be in a cast until they are ready to maintain position.

His stomach doesn't seem to be any better even on day 4 of antibiotics, so I don't know what will happen with that. I'm waiting for his ped to advise.

Tooth 4

Ben now has his top and bottom front teeth. He looks like a little chipmunk :)

Surgery tomorrow

That's what you get with second hand information - aka relying on husband to get the correct information! I was mistaken, Jack is going under general anaesthetic tomorrow. I rang the hospital, we're going in for 7.30am and he is first on the surgery list. I mentioned his g-tube and the antibiotics, she thinks it will be ok to go ahead, but the doctor obviously makes the final decision.

Hopefully everything will go smoothly. If it gets cancelled, I should know almost as soon as I take him in. Since he'll be taken to theatre, I doubt I'll get to see how his foot currently looks. I'm assuming Tony got the part about it being a day case right and he won't be staying overnight ;-)

Lots of pictures!

Here, let me help you.

Hello?

I'll just manage on my own then?



My little helpers making brownies last week. (Ack, look at the hand prints and fingermarks on my cupboard doors, I am sick of telling her!)


It was supposed to be lots of pics, my camera battery just died. More later.

Happy 7 years :)

7 years ago, almost to the moment, my husband and I shared our first kiss and subsequently became "involved". Boy, what a kiss. I love him so much, now more than ever.

He came home for lunch and I made him *kiss* me again :)

We haven't had an easy ride - in terms of things that have happened to us - but our love has never wavered. He is my rock and I am so glad he is mine!

Not chicken pox!

Whew!

The doctor said it wasn't chicken pox, but doesn't know if it is just his g-tube infection as it is spread all up his torso. He's going to go back on antibiotics, usually they make a difference in a couple of days.

I don't know if this is enough to make them happy on Wednesday to continue with the next part of his surgery, but at least it isn't chicken pox. Fingers crossed they'll do it, especially if he's already receiving treatment.

Katie had her first real injury today. She tripped (over thin air!) and smacked her face into the edge of the door - hard! You could tell it was serious because she was doing that thing where she couldn't even cry to start with as she couldn't catch her breath. It turned pink and swollen straight away. A little while later she was happy with yoghurt and is her normal self now so hopefully it was just the shock. I think it will bruise overnight. I felt so bad for her, it hurt me to see her like that. It won't be the last time no doubt. Kids!

Workout Roundup - Week 4

I worked out Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Treadmill
Time - 155 minutes up 3% from last week
Distance - 16.1 miles up 5% from last week
Calories - 645 cals up 5% from last week

Elliptical
Time - 59 minutes up 5% from last week
Distance - 17.9 miles up 10 % from last week
Calories - 740 up 9% from last week

Total
Time - 214 minutes up 3%
Distance - 34 miles up 7%
Calories - 1385 cals up 7%


NO weight loss, @&!*%#'$. At the end of 4 hard weeks, I've lost a whopping 1lb.

Today's run was easy for me though (comparatively!), so at least there is that. I don't know if I'm fitter or if it was the different trainers I was wearing, surely a pair of shoes wouldn't make that much difference?! I'll find out tomorrow, my target is 25 minutes running with no walking or stopping. I usually run at 6.7 mph and have only 2 runs left on my programme.

Beautiful day

We had lovely weather today, around 15 celsius (I'm too lazy to convert to Fahrenheit, I have no idea). I do love winter and the cosy nights in, but there is something to be said for a little warmth and sun. I had the windows open in the house, the breeze was so refreshing and it just felt... good! Spring is around the corner :)

Next on my reading list.

Finally finished reading Lisey's Story by Stephen King. It was alright, but to be honest his latest work doesn't capture me in the same way that his early work did.

Let's see how long it takes me to get through The Good Guy by Dean Koontz. I'm a big fan. I used to love reading but get so little time these days it takes me forever.

Uh oh

Jack was sent home from school this morning with suspected chicken pox. No big deal normally, but he is supposed to be having surgery on Wednesday! However, I'm not convinced. He has been battling a g-tube infection which looks like a huge rash all over his chest/abdomen for almost 4 months now and 3 or 4 rounds of antibiotics. I am sure it is that.

He has no fever, isn't scratching, no cold symptoms, is acting normally, the other kids are ok, the "spots" are only on his abdomen. I've never seen chicken pox but upon reading, I don't think this is it. Apparently the school says he can't go back for 2 weeks. Sigh. I think they are just being over cautious - we've had a few calls about things like this, one resulting in an A&E (ER) visit that was nothing.

And why do these things always happen on a Friday? I'm going to take him to the doc on Monday morning. If they confirm it is, fair enough, he'll be home for the next 2 weeks and his op will be cancelled. If it is just his tube I think they'll put him on antibiotics again and I think they'll still go ahead with Wednesday. Obviously we need to see his gastro consultant again. We saw him in December, but something needs to be done. His site leaks all the time so no doubt the stomach acid is what is causing the rash. He can't keep going on ab's, he'll end up resistant. I think he needs a different type of tube. He currently has the mini button and we've always had problems with his stoma, over granulation, leaking, 3 years now since he switched from a ng tube.

Please don't be chicken pox!

Oooh, cool website

I just found, but it's bed time so I'll need to check it out properly tomorrow. First impressions are encouraging - especially the calculator that tells me running 3 miles in 30 minutes does not only burn 124 lousy calories that my treadmill tells me. 290 sounds much better ;-).

Looks like quite a few tips here on how to approach things - sensibly! Especially the tutorial and calculator sections.

Weight loss

My running plan

How many times have I edited this due to formatting?!!!! I think it is fixed.

So why am I not losing weight? Ok, I haven't really modified my diet in terms of types of food yet, but have cut down on portions, stopped eating sweets and am drinking more water. Here are my treadmill totals over 3 weeks. I just added the elliptical last week and tend to just keep going until I hit 3 miles, which is around 10-11 minutes.

This morning was a killer (3.4 miles). I'm not looking forward to Friday!

Time Distance Calories Minutes Miles 20 1.8 72 1 min run, 1 min walk x 10 30 2.6 104 2 min run, 4 min walk x 5 30 2.7 108 2 min run, 4 min walk x 5 24 2.3 91 3 min run, 3 min walk x 4 24 2.3 92 3 min run, 3 min walk x 4 24 2.3 93 5 min run, 3 min walk x 3 24 2.3 94 27 2.7 107 7 min run, 2 min walk x 3 30 3.0 120 8 min run, 2 min walk x 3 30 3.0 120 8 min run, 2 min walk x 3 30 3.1 123 8 min run, 2 min walk x 3 31 3.1 124 10 min run, 2 min walk x 2. Run 5, 2 min walk 30 3.1 124 8 min run, 2 min walk x 3 30 3.1 124 9 min run, 1 min walk x 3 30 3.1 124 33 3.4 136 12 min run, 1 min walk x 2. Run 5, 2 min walk 30 I am here 8 min run, 2 min walk x 3 32 15 min run, 1 min walk x 2 30 8 min run, 2 min walk x 3 25 25 min run. 20 5 min run, 1 min walk x 3. Run 1, walk 1.

Surgery part 2

I have Jack's date for the next stage of his surgery. Wednesday 13th February. We need to be in for 7.30am again and I think with this one he'll be out the same day.

They're going to move some of the wires/pins and since his foot should hopefully be partially corrected, they're going to push it the rest of the way, then cast him again. He was wires from his shin pulling the fore foot straighter and a wire pushed up the sole of his foot to bring his foot up and give him a heel. I know they moved some tendons and ligaments (Tony said *removed* some?) so his foot should be freer.

I might be able to see the current state of his foot next week, I'm not sure if they're going to take him away to do it, or let me be there. I'm not sure I actually want to look as they are doing it though!

Fingers crossed everything is healing nicely.

Ben

He is everywhere!

It is odd as Jack isn't mobile and Katie hit her physical milestones late, so I'm not used to someone so little getting into so much trouble.

I know he's later than most, but to me, he seems advanced. Considering last week he couldn't move, this week he is crawling everywhere and pulling up onto everything. He doesn't get all the way to his feet, more like onto one knee and tries to push on his other foot, but he is really trying and I think he'll be all the way up in no time. He is also much more stable when I stand him against something, but his ankles are still weak, so it seems hurts him as he cries after a few minutes.

His appointment with the consultant (same guy as Jack's) is next month so we'll see what they think about him. His feet are still turning in, not as bad, but they aren't fixed in my eyes, given that he can "clap" them if he's sitting on his bum with his legs straight! Everything I've ever read about clubfoot has said it is easy to correct within a few months, certainly by a year, blah, blah, blah. When Ben was graded at birth he was on the most severe level, so I understand for some it is not easy. He's always had the tenotomy on both heels, but might need the tendon transfer surgery that Jack had in 2006 on his forefeet (is that a word?), so we should know next month.

Best go rescue the bin from him, unless I want my carpet covered with paper and wrappers!

Love it!

How to strike fear into your husband

Ask him... "so, do you think I look/feel thinner?" ;-)

3 full weeks of exercise completed and he must be sick of me going on about the scales not shifting. He emphasises how do I *feel*, do I feel better for it, more energetic, refreshed.

We were lying in bed last night and I asked him the question. They can't actually win, can they. If they say yes, they can tell, we'll then just think "so what's he saying? That I was a fat lump before?!" If they say no, well that would feel really bad after all the hard work.

He diplomatically answers "erm, well, sometimes it is different".
"Different??? How can I be differently thinner?"
"Well, to me, you never needed to lose weight, I love how you look. You definitely feel more toned!"

Hmmm, thanks??? Bless him.

Workout Roundup - Week 3

Stepped up the game this week as added the elliptical to my treadmill.

I worked out Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

I am extremely sad as I'm tracking my totals in Excel so have worked out the percentage difference from last week, lol.

Treadmill
Time - 151 minutes up 44%
Distance - 15.4 miles up 50%
Calories - 615 cals up 49%

Elliptical
Time - 56 minutes
Distance - 16.3 miles
Calories - 676 cals

Total
Time - 207 minutes
Distance - 31.7 miles
Calories - 1291 cals

I lost 2lb mid week, but gained 1lb as of this morning, so have only lost 1lb in 3 weeks of all this work.
Something is not right here. MAD!!!
(Yes I do feel better and clothes seem to fit better, but I want to lose weight!)

What's the matter?

I must stop ranting out loud. I must be always complaining to myself.
Katie makes me stop to think when she asks "what's the matter, mammy?"
Is it really worth complaining about? ;-)
"Nothing darling"
She's so cute.


Jack has been in finer spirits today as I've been giving him regular pain meds. He's not trying to move yet, but we'll see how he does after this weekend.


Ben... Ben. This child can now crawl even with his brace/bar on! He seems more stable now when I stand him up and he has stopped crying if I go out of the room for something now that he can move and has some control :)