The Beach!

Hey, Jenny posted some pics to her facebook account and tagged me in them. Feel free to check out our trip. Well, gotta go... the ocean beckons!

Free Crocs!

Here are the boys modeling my new Malindi's.

Here are the boys modeling my new Malindi's.

Noah tried to take a pic of me in my new shoes!



Here is the story. Earlier this month I went with my friend Erin (5dollardinners.com) to a mom's night out (MNO). Jenny (MomminItUp) and Andrea (Mommysnacks) hosted this shin dig! There was delicious food!! Pizza Hut and Subway as well as hostess 100 calorie lemon cakes. We got swag bags from Kroger and other wonderful sponsors like Palmer's Cocoa Butter products and we had a Mary Kay satin hands (YUMMM!) demo from LuAnn. The evening was broadcasted live via the internet and George from Crocs sent out a tweet to all of the MNO parties to send out a shout out to Crocs. WE WON!! The prize ANY pair of Crocs off their site, excluding "YOU". Um, I am a Crocs virgin, so when I went to the site, I was shocked by all of the styles they offer. Here is my first impression, I HEART Crocs! I am totally hooked. They are seriously the most comfy shoe I have ever tried on and I want more. They have a ton of colors to choose from and you really need to check out their site. They have something for everyone. Good times!

Tomorrow Collin will be 3!! *sigh* How did that happen?

As I sit down to type this post I can hear his sweet voice narrating the scene he is developing using a various smattering of random toys. He picks up his Sesame Street CD player and pushes the button to get to his favorite tune, whatever it is at that moment! :) He has given up and not decides to change the disc. Frustration is mounting! Will he ask for help? No, not this independent little man. Down goes the cd player on comes the phone. Since it was given to him on Saturday at his birthday party, Collin has been carrying around a singing card featuring "Biteyear" aka Buzz Lightyear and Woody on the front with the song "You've got a friend in me". I have always liked that song and for some reason I still do even after hearing it every day now for nearly a week. Collin is the curious kind of kid and he will win your heart with just on look from the corner of his eye while smiling his crooked little grin with dimples present under his nose. He is so cute! (if I don't say so myself.)
Collin was a big surprise to us! He showed up on a pregnancy test when Noah was just shy of 7 months old. It was Oct 5, 2005. We were 2 days shy of our 5th anniversary. It occurred to me one night after dinner out with a few girlfriends and razzing my BFF Steph about how she might be preggers. (Steph has a son 5 days older than Noah.) Well, on the way home from dinner I realized I was the one who was late... so the "test" was purchased. I kept going back and forth about it, but I knew I was pregnant. So, on the 5th, we put Noah down for the night and turned on Law and Order... I snuck upstairs to pee on a stick that I was sure would put my heart to rest. Well, something happened when that test was activated. My bathroom turned into the strip in Las Vegas, as the test lite up the bathroom with a big FAT 'Yep, your pregnant lady'! I composed myself, went downstairs to my poor unsuspecting hubby and said, turn that off we need to talk. He kindly said something to the effect of dude, seriously just let me watch my show. Until I held up the "reason" we needed to talk. His eyes lit up and he was immediately thrilled. I was too, don't get me wrong, I was just in shock. I had just had a baby, before that a miss carriage and I was still recovering from Noah's stay in the NICU! I was overwhelmed with so many emotions I just wanted to sit down and catch my breath. This lasted about 5 minutes and then I was on the phone calling everyone on our "nearest/dearest" list sharing our good news! :) I didn't look back. I was so excited to have this new little life growing inside of me. My water broke at 36 weeks and Collin was born at 7:31 am. He had to stay in the NICU for 5 days, then he came home to meet his brother and Pug.
Nothing about Collin has been predictable. Maybe that will be his Mantra in life? He started rolling, as if on cue when I got out the video camera to film him when he was under 2 weeks old. He sat early, too. When he was 10 months old he broke his arm, while sleeping in his crib one night. This is a crazy story, but I will save it for another time. The broken arm didn't slow down this little determined monkey for long. He never once let it keep him from doing what he wanted to do. He army crawled in his tiny blue cast.
Now he is a busy little builder who loves dinosaurs, Buzz Lightyear, singing and dancing... just to name a few of his fav's. He is a joy! I love him more than I could ever say!! Happy Birthday my sweet Collin!! I love you!

Collin's 3rd Birthday party!

Here are some pics from Collin's birthday party and the rodeo! Enjoy!

Hello, my name is Becky and I wear a size 14

Here it is... When I began my "journey to a healthy lifestyle" I was a size 22. I was teetering on size 24 and God grabbed a hold of my heart and led me down a road of self discovery.

This pic was taken on Nov 19, 2006. I had a 2 1/2 year old, a 6 month old, acid reflux, a poor body image and I was broken. I turned 28 the day before this pic was taken and I was no where near the mother or wife I wanted to be. I was limited by my self-loathing and fear pretty much controlled my every move. So, I started counting calories, but MOST importantly I gave a lot of the issues that kept me in that "fatsuit" over to God. I say "most" because I still have a long way to go.
Fast forward to a 61lbs weightloss and a new lease on life. Then I hit a wall, well, almost died acutally. In short I lost January 2008 - about a week ago to a smattering of health problems. Those of you who are new to this blog should check out my entries from last Aug - Sept to catch up.
Anyway, I have gained a little of my weight back, but not even a quarter of what I lost. I am frustrated, but diligent in looking for a way I can work out while still giving my body time to heal. Today I went shopping for jeans. A gig many women hate! I have a newfound appreciation for finding jeans pre kidney surgery. Now I have to hide my muffin top while making sure the waistline of my pants doesn't rub or put pressure on my still healing incision. GRR! Well, I was convinced I was going to have cave in and get a size 16 or 18, I was SSOOO happy to get 2 new beautiful pair of size 14 jeans, 1 -Gap 1 -Old Navy. I was in a size 12 or 14 when I had surgery. So I am well aware I am still dealing with what I see in the mirror vs what is reality. Someday I will hit my goal and when that day comes, I am having a HUGE PARTAY!! And you are all invited!! WOOT WOOT! (PS I did tremble when I posted my sixes, but I am trying to realize that it is a size NOT my identity!!)

So,

It is mother's day weekend and I just want to say how thankful I am for a wonderful hubby and 2 amazing sons! I want to thank God for the child we lost 5 years ago last month. I am thankful to have been able to carry that baby in my womb for the short 8 weeks he/she inhabited that space and for keeping that child close to my heart for the rest of my life. I am indeed richly blessed by the family God has generously given me.
I am also very thankful for my Mom who I was able to spend the evening with last night. Thank you Mom for teaching me so much through the years and loving me for being me! I love you!

Goodbye cabin fever... hello summer love!

This evening after a eating a delicious dinner, we headed out to the backyard for some fun in the sandbox. Please note Collin's amazing style. He is wearing the shirt he wore to church this morning and a pair of Noah's pajama shorts that he decided to wear at nap time today. Oh, of course he finished the outfit with the ever present froggy boots.


Then, we got out the bigwheel and Noah's "big bike with the big horn" and headed for the sidewalk in front of our house.


Collin can't reach the pedal's, but he sure likes to pretend.

Noah can really make the bike go fast now. He even does a great job steering.




One more thing, we have new neighbor's and they have a little girl, Reagan, and a baby on the way. Noah was talking to her tonight and gave her a flower from our yard. When he came inside, he said "Mom I want to play with that girl over there. She is really pretty and I want to kiss her". OH BOY!