Week One Of Loosing Weight!

Was certainly a success!  I've already lost 6 lbs!  Which means I have lost about 8% of what I want to loose (50lbs).   That's pretty awesome in my book!   I know I won't be loosing 6lbs every week, but it was a nice jump start to my new life.  

Feel free to follow my weightloss blog for tips and tricks, and to see exactly what I am doing to loose.

http://shedandtakecharge.blogspot.com

Peaceful...

Well, the girls have left to go home.  We had a lot of fun.  If we don't have a placement in the near future, I am sure we will provide respite for them again.  I hope they enjoyed their stay, I am pretty sure they did.

The LOST series finale is tonight.  My husband and I have watched since the beginning, so we are having a hard time with this being the end!

Hope that everyone had a good weekend!

Am I CRAZY?

After one night and one morning I have the swing of these girls already.  I've heard of "honeymoon" periods, but I assure you, we haven't had one.  They argue, fight, and whine just like any other kid would... but when I ask them to stop they usually listen, and they do really well with their 1-2-3 warnings and then time out.   I guess I am cut out for kids with behavior issues, because I don't really take any crap from anyone.   My husband is a softy enough for the two of us!  They have him wrapped around his finger. 

With that said, we have had a good morning so far.  Two of the girls are here with me while the oldest made a Walmart run with my husband for some supplies.   The girls have EXTREMELY curly hair, and I as I straightened mine this morning, they wanted me to do theirs.   I did each while they played "telephone" and when I was doing the 6 yr olds, her sister asked what she was doing and she replied "My mom is straightening my hair".   Obviously, they know I am not their mom, but it did make me feel like a welcome participant in their weekend.   They are just too cute, and they know it too!

They are VERY curious as to why we don't have kids.  The 5 yr old told me she hopes I have 7 babies.  She said a boy and a boy and a girl etc...   The 6 yr old told me she hopes I have 3 girls just like her mom because we have a real nice "place" (referring to our house).   They're really funny and very bonded to each other.

More to come!

3 Girls!!!

Wow, let me start by saying that the girls we are doing respite for have an AMAZING set of foster parents.  They have been in care for four years and are moving to adoption now.  Three girls 5, 6, and 7 makes for the greatest sibling rivalry I've ever seen.   All things considered, they did phenomenal tonight.  They're resting in bed now and tomorrow we're going to go to the park and run out some energy!  All three are adorable, and they took to my husband right out of the gate.   At one point he had the 5 and 6 yr old on each hip carrying them around. 

I think we did really well, and so did the girls! 

More updates to come!

YAY! Our First Respite Placement

We have been finished with PRIDE going on close to two months now.  Today I got a call for respite for three little girls.  They're 5, 6, and 7.  I'm so excited!  They will be staying Friday night through Sunday night.  I went shopping today and bought arts and crafts, bubbles, playdoh, and a few games.  Updates to come!

Time for Change!

Well, today I officially began my "diet".  I am putting "diet" in quotes because for me this really is going to be a long term lifestyle change. 

I started a new blog so that I could keep these things separate, even though they will both intertwine occasionally.  The new blog is:   http://shedandtakecharge.blogger.com/

I am very excited and I really do feel like this is a plan I can work forever.  The other blog is a bit bland right now, but I will probably be entering my daily meals etc. so that a few of my friends trying to loose can follow along. 

Feel free to follow me over there.  Even if you're not dieting!  :)

Taking Charge

This week is the week I take back a little bit of my self-control!  In 2003 I was diagnosed with PCOS after one round of the Depo Provera shot.  Since then I have been in an uphill battle with weight loss and that is about to change.  I know the one thing that will make me a happier person no matter what is to feel in control of my weight again.  Tuesday I am meeting with a doctor in my area who is helping me formulate a diet and exercise plan that will specifically target my PCOS problems.    The big goal is to focus on my insulin resistance, and then weight loss will ultimately follow. 

Thankfully, I stopped drinking anything aside from water (and the occasional glass of wine) on January 28th, the same day I had my physical for becoming a Foster Parent. 

To me it doesn't matter if we get pregnant, adopt, foster only, I just HAVE to take better care of myself and my health.   At 26, I shouldn't feel like I'm 40.  

Today I cleaned out my pantry (most was past its due date anyway), fridge, and freezer.  I was happy to rid myself of the not so healthy foods.  I mean, I wasn't eating them anyway, they had expired!  

So wish me luck, I will keep everyone posted on my progress, and I hope to see some positive results very soon!

I will not obsess....

So we submitted for the girls less than 24 hours ago, and I PROMISED my wonderful husband I wouldn't obsess or get my hopes hung up on being considered for them. Well, of course last night, every freakin' dream I had surrounded those two girls being in our lives. Thankfully, when I woke up this morning I was able to think of things other than the girls. It was just so weird how vivid and real my dreams were. We were at a swimming pool in one of them and I was freaking out because my husband wasn't using enough sunscreen, then he said "Honey, they're Hispanic, they don't need sunscreen". It was weird! I'll be sure to tell my husband tonight that you don't have to be "white" to get a sunburn! :)

The nice thing is that I am going to Florida May 28-June 7, so that will distract me from all of this waiting and such.

So, I suppose I should actually do some work now. Or, maybe I will just go and surf adoptuskids.org


***Edited to Add*** this was my horoscope today on my iGoogle home page. It felt it was appropriate for this blog post:

Taurus


It's one thing to anticipate the future so you can be ready for all contingencies. It's quite another, though, to be so wrapped up in what might happen that you lose control of the present moment. Even if you are already thinking ahead, you may need to slow yourself down today or your frustration will soon outweigh your enthusiasm.

"Expressing Interest"

Well, yesterday I was browsing around the various "Available Children" websites I have bookmarked over the last few months, and I stumbled across a new site to me. On said site, I found a listing for two little girls (sisters) ages 3 and 5. They are beyond adorable! I e-mailed my social worker to be sure my home-study was signed for good, and she said it will be on Monday, May 17th. These girls are in another state, therefore I had to have an approved home-study to register and express our interest. Since it's not "technically" approved, I wrote the agency that the girls are listed with to see if I could go ahead and express interest knowing that all I am waiting for is a signature from the supervisor who is out until Monday. They wrote back quickly and said "YES! If you wait until Monday they may not be listed then".

So, we have officially expressed interest in our first children. Obviously it's a long way to even having a shot at adopting, but I am excited that we took that "leap" to begin our family.

That's all for today. I will keep you posted if I ever hear anything back.

Happy Mother's Day and Stuff!

WOW! I can’t believe it’s been a month since we completed our PRIDE training. Last week on Tuesday I received a call for a respite placement, sadly the dates lined up with my Florida vacation to visit my mom, so I had to turn it down. Then I received another call for respite Thursday, for Friday night during our Foster Parent Appreciation dinner, but my husband and I really wanted to attend the dinner, so we said “no” to that as well.

The dinner was very nice. It was at the fanciest hotel in our town, and there was a remarkable turn out. We were able to reconnect with some of our PRIDE folks and found out that none of them have placements or have had calls for respite yet. That is mostly due to the fact that they have had to do their fingerprints THREE times for the women in the couples. I am so happy ours were prefect on the first try! At this dinner I also found out that one of my co-workers has two boys that he and his wife adopted from FC. They were straight adoption placements because TPR had already occurred. When they came home to my co-worker they were 3 and 5 (boys). Now they’re teenagers!

Yesterday was both my 26th birthday and Mother’s Day. It’s crazy for me to think that next year, I could be a mother.

Although we are foster parents and are very open to adopting through foster care, my husband and I are also discussing trying for a bio child too. I am going to begin a new weight-loss program this month that is targeted at helping my PCOS. It’s a low-glycemic diet that is also based around organic foods. I really hope to see success because up to this point I haven’t had any success loosing weight no matter what I do.

I think that if I can loose 50lbs over the next year, I will not only be in better shape, but I will also return to a normal cycle that should allow me to conceive.

So we will see. I want to be a mom, but some days, I just do not know how people do it. Usually it’s on a Sunday when I’ve laid around all day watching TV. I know life is going to change, and I am ok with that.

So happy Mother’s Day to all of my mother/soon-to-be mother friends and to my mom.

My mom is one of the strongest, focused, and laid back people I know. She became a single mom at 26 to four kids. She really was a single mom before then, but legally she was a single mom at 26. She did her best to provide a loving stable home for us kids despite my father not being in the picture aside from financially. She always expected the best of us, but when we made mistakes, she helped us learn the lesson and guided us back to better decisions. She listens more than she speaks, which is a virtue I could only hope to one day possess. I love you mom for being my mom! I know you see the beauty in all of your children, and I want you to know I too see the beauty in you!