P90: Weigh in, Measurements, and Day 1

I know I won't be able to get all 90 days in before we go to Disney since our trip is in 72 days, but I'm hoping to get as much as possible. So from here on out, it will be P72 instead. ;)

Starting information:
Weight: 157 lbs
Left Arm: 13 in
Right Arm: 13 in
Left Thigh: 24 in
Right Thigh: 25 in
Chest: 41 in
Waist: 36.5 in
Hips: 43 in

Day 1 was resistance and sculpting, and actually wasn't that bad. I was able to do all but the dips (where you put your hands on a chair behind you and dip down), and those almost killed me. And even though I was able to do it today, that doesn't mean that after cardio and abs tomorrow that I'll be able to do it on Sunday! I'm going to try not to take measurements again until Day 36 (halfway), and then before we go to Disney (I'll probably end it here.) I'm excited to see what the next 71 days bring.

*hangs head in shame*

Hi there. Again. I'm here, and starting to get a little bit of sleep, and we have so much going on. I'll try to make this short and sweet! (who am I kidding!)

• IT'S SUMMER!
Cadence is loving being home, and the only issue the little ones are having is that the sun is still up when they head to bed. We don't have any major trips planned, but it's been nice to throw them in shorts, tshirts and flip flops (or barefoot for the two little ones) and not have to worry about it. Cadence will start school first week of August, so next week summer vacation will be half over. I don't think I'll mention that to her any time soon. ;)

• I'm trying to get hot!
Tonight starts day one of me starting P90. I don't know if I'll be able to make it, or if it will kick my butt, but I'm excited to try! I don't really want to lose weight, but just tone up a little. Let's hope it doesn't kill me too much. And I'll try not to drive you crazy with P90 updates.

• Mike and I both have new jobs!
Both of our jobs were driving us insane and were very unhealthy for us (I lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks, wasn't eating, wasn't sleeping, and was being super cranky mom to the girls), and so on March 26 (yes, the Tuesday before Easter) I walked out. Mike left CarMax the next day (he at least gave 2 weeks.) I had another job waiting which is closer to home, smaller, less stress and I'm making more money. Mike is working with a friend of his doing windshield repair, and he's even happier than I am. I didn't realize how stressed and awful things for both of us were until we weren't dealing with it anymore. Things are MUCH MUCH better.

• WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!
This is the one I'm most excited about!! We will be there from Sept 8-13, and we're staying at Cornado Springs. It's for Amelia and Cadence's birthday, and our trip with overlap with Sarah's!! We are trying to do this as economically as possible, so I have tons of ideas that we're going to try and get finished in the next 72 days. And I'll apologize now that this is about to become Disney Craft Central! :) I'm beyond excited about getting to go!!!!

I'm not going to promise to update more often, but I'll try. But I say that a lot, so we'll see!

Yeah, so I suck at this

It's amazing how little time I have now with three little ones around. We've mostly settled into a routine at night, but by the time they are all out, it's then time for me to clean up and get myself to bed, and usually one of the little ones is back awake again! Anyway, I'm here. For now, at least!

We're all doing ok, and trying to get over the funk. Maddie is on antibiotics for a double ear infection, I'm on them for a sinus infection, and I was told today that Amelia has been pulling and digging in her ear. I foresee another doctor's appointment in my future.

So, tonight the girls and I were at Target looking for a baby gift for my cousin, Jennifer. She's about to have her second baby - a sweetsie little boy who will be the first on that side of the in years!! I wanted to get her something that she probably wouldn't get from anyone else, would be useful, and something that she probably wouldn't buy herself. One of my favorite gifts from Amelia's shower was this awesome drying rack by Boon. It has been so helpful, and since I was nursing and wouldn't really need bottles except at the sitter, I could also use it for medicine droppers, pump parts, and sippy cup straws. I'm hoping that Jennifer loves it as much as I do, because we got her one, too. I also got her the Twig, and came VERY close to picking it up for myself. I'm glad I didn't, because I saw the Stem when I got on their site when I got home. It's a purple flower!! A cute purple flower to go with my awesome drying rack that looks like grass! If I can find it at Target, I'm definitely getting it!

I'm also on the lookout for baby shower cupcake ideas. I'm taking some for a shower at work next week, and I want them to be perfect! I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet, but the girl they are for has assured me that she adores cupcakes - any kind - so she will be thrilled with whatever I bring. Right now I'm leaning toward marshmallow flowers on top, but with blue sugar. I'll try to remember to post pictures when I decide!

I think I hear the little one up (again!), so I'll try to remember to come back before 3 months has passed!

Wow, three months...

I knew it had been awhile, but didn't realize it had been this long. The past month or so has been super crazy getting ready for Birthdaypalooza 2012, and now we've started "A Very Pinterest Christmas." I'll post quick updates on the girls and us, and I promise to be back with the good and not so good Pinterest ideas we've tried!

Cadence:
She's doing ok. We have an appointment on December 4 with a psychiatrist to see if she has ADHD, impulse control issues, a processing disorder or something else altogether. I'm not opposed to medication if the doctor thinks that is what she needs, but I also won't object at all if they suggest behavior therapy or something else. I love her to pieces, but she's still having outburst over very tiny things, *can not* sit still AT ALL, and has started pulling her hair out resulting in bald spots. She's so bright and funny and creative, and it breaks my heart to see her so angry and frustrated all the time. I'm really hoping this will help and give us some answers.

Amelia:
She's two. And definitely acts like a two year old! I hear a lot of "No, Mommy! Mine! You a mean mommy! No Sissy! No touch! DON'T!!!" and my favorites, "go bed, Mommy!" and "EAT SOUP, MOMMY!!!" She is absolutely hilarious most of the time, and is much much much better with Maddie. She loves to hold her, kiss her, and thinks it's so funny when she makes faces or talks and Maddie laughs at her. She loves "meme mouf", "Jake Ho Ho" and "Sissy YaYa" (Minnie Mouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Cinderella for those of you that can't speak toddler), and gets so excited whenever a Disney World commercial comes on. I can't wait utnil we can take her. She's a handful, but she's MY handful, and I wouldn't change her for anything.

Maddie:
She'll be six months old next week! She's still very tiny - in 0-3 month clothes still - and I'm going to talk to them next week about her weight in relation to how much she eats (a ton!) and spits up (also a ton!) She is rolling over, and has figured out how to roll/scoot/wiggle herself pretty much wherever she wants. She's still not quite sitting up on her own, but wants to so bad! I'm really excited about Thanksgiving tomorrow, because she's now eating whatever mushy things we are, and I know she's going to lose it with all the food we'll have tomorrow. She's usually happy (unless I put her down or pass her off), and smiles all the time. She's also set a bedtime for herself. She goes to bed about 8 or 8:30 every night, and will sleep until 4ish the next morning. I had one 10 hour night, but it was the exception. Usually she sleeps about 8 hours or so straight, and it's so nice. She's such a good baby, an we've been so lucky.

Mike and me:
Well, we're both still at jobs we're not completely thrilled with, and still not making quite enough for me to be at home full time. However, there are some things in the works, so maybe something will change for one or both of us soon.

It's been crazy having three little ones around the house, and even though Maddie has been here six months, I think we're all still adjusting to everything. It's so weird to look around and see 5 stockings on the mantle (yes, I've already decorated for Christmas!), and have three kids crammed in the back of my Jeep, and have three to check up on before I go to sleep. And I've ran into another problem I didn't have with Cadence and Amelia: I'm getting Amelia and Maddie's babyhoods mixed up! Cadence and Amelia were so far apart that it hasn't been that hard to remember which of them did what. But with Amelia and Maddie only being 19 months apart, it's all becoming a babyhood blur. And of course it doesn't help that my children all look alike!

I have tons of pictures from the mega Birthdaypalooza 2012, and of all the Christmas gifts and holiday foods we've been making. I'll definitely be back shortly to upload some of those!

In case I don't get back tomorrow, I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!

Seven years ago...

Seven years ago Mississippi was hit by one of the worst hurricanes in history. We still live in the same house, but at that time we had a 10 month old, not a seven year old, almost 2 year old and 3 month old. Right now all the forecasts are saying that Isaac will hit right on the MS Gulf Coast - just like Katrina did - only this one should be slightly smaller. However, once again, Mississippi is being completely overlooked on a national scale. I came across a facebook page earlier that was called "The Land Mass Between NOLA and Mobile" (yes, I liked it.) For reference, here's what our coast looked like A YEAR AND A HALF after Katrina:











Those pictures are all from Biloxi and Gulfport. And this was after all the awesome, amazing people down there had been working for 19 months on cleaning and rebuilding. The days right after Katrina were horrific, and seven years later we are finally getting back to some sense of normal. And, of course, Isaac has to head our way and plans to hit almost exactly on the seven year anniversary of Katrina.

So, a note to all of the media outlets out there: We may not be as cool or historic as New Orleans and Mobile, but we are still here. We exist. And we are survivors. I have no problems with hearing reports about all of the Gulf Coast, because we are all a family. Just don't forget about the unwanted stepchild in the corner. We deserve to have our story told, too.

Praying it passes soon

I'm not sure if it's lack of sleep, stress, or hormones, but the dreams, anxiety and panics have started again. It doesn't happen often, but every once in awhile I have nights where I can't sleep and I keep imagining all the awful things that could happen to us. The most common is fire. I'm absolutely terrified that we're going to have a house fire in the middle of the night and I'm not going to be able to get all three of the girls out. And for the last few days, I've also been having crazy dreams, and will start getting panicky for no reason at all. I walked in a minute ago to calm Amelia and almost started crying when she looked up at me and said momma.

I know that these feelings will pass soon, but I absolutely hate feeling this way. I  KNOW it's irrational. I KNOW that I'm overreacting. I KNOW that I'm being a hormonal mommy. But when it's midnight or so and I can't sleep, and all I keep thinking about is crazy house fires or car wrecks or who knows what else, it's hard to remember that I'm being irrational and overreacting. Very very hard.

Middle of the night ramblings

It's about 3:30am right now, and the only reason I'm up is because the baby has decided that something is wrong and she must scream. She's finally settled some, but not asleep, so I'm doing this to keep myself awake until I can head back to bed.

I'm realizing again what the words "walking dead" mean. Last night I was in bed about 11, and woke at 2:30, 3:30, 4:15, 4:30, 4:45 and 5:00. Tonight it was sleep at 11:45, then up around 1:15, 3:00 and now 3:30. Monday night and Tuesday night were just as bad. It's not always Maddie. Sometimes it's Amelia (last night is because at 4:15 she decided she needed a "siss-sess bambaid" to sleep. It took me until 4:45 to figure that out.), and a few times it's been Mike. I told him I'm about to the point I'm going to head to Momma's tomorrow, pass off the three kids, and then lock myself away to go sleep. I'm REALLY tempted to do that.

Cadence auditioned for a play last week, and even got a callback. Unfortunately, we got a letter on Wednesday that she didn't get any part. She was really upset, but I'm proud that she even got up there with the other 64 people to audition for only 25 parts. It was for Pinkalicious, so it would have been the perfect first play for her, but I know there will be other opportunities. We're also back to being on any color but green at school. Thankfully she has an awesome teacher who seems really concerned about working with her to get to a less talkative state.

Amelia is talking up a storm, and is Disney obsessed. She begs for "mouse and quack!" every morning (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for those of you not fluent in Ameliaese), and loves to point out Pooh and Siss-Sess (any princess.) Tonight we put on Belle pjs, and I asked her who was on it expecting "siss-sess." Instead she looked at it, grinned really big and told me it was Belle. She is also starting to get into movies, and reminds me more of Sarah each day. She even grunted to help me open a jar the other day. I could just eat her up!

Maddie is growing like a weed, and so extremely sweet. She's a good mix of the other two, and is getting redder by the day. I'm SO happy about that. And thankfully she seems to finally be asleep, so I'm going to try and head back that way before another kid wakes. Maybe I'll get an hour or so in!