What a day!

The day has finally come. The day I worked hard for, dreamed of and sometimes wondered if it was even possible. This morning I got on the scale as I do every few days and today was the day! The day I would reach my 100 pound weightloss. I must have reweighed a handful of times before it started to sink in.

I pondered for a minute how to feel and what to do today to acknowledge this milestone. While it may seem like bragging to others I decided to share the news of my milestone. I have worked hard , the blood ,sweat and tears got me here. There was no luck involved , just back to the basics of healthy balanced food and exercise. No secret magic solution. So I share with you that I have reached a milestone in my journey but I am not done yet.

I changed my lifestyle forever and I am still looking ahead to reaching my goal in time. There isn't a deadline of when this will happen. I am just continuing on as I have been doing and I know I will get there in time. I've got a ways to go. I have the skin that hangs on my arms and stomach but I have worked hard and I am proud.

If I can do this anyone can if they want to bad enough. To quote a favorite song of mine and one that inspires me.
''If you want to be somebody else,
If you're tired of fighting battles with yourself
If you want to be somebody else
Change your mind... ''  Lyrics to Change your Mind by Sister Hazel

The bad part of the day was Collin woke up during the night sick. The poor boy was in serious pain with his ears. We headed to the ENT where he had to get a shot and some ear drops and antibiotics. He was just miserable and the whole staff at the doctor took pity on him. The nurse trying to distract him asked him if he had a puppy dog. Poor Collin told her No she died and he cried some more. I tried my best to cheer him up and the 5 suckers they gave him when we went to pay didn't even help. He seems some better tonight and hopefully on the road to recovery. Those darn ears of his !

Mother's Day

To my children,
            My love for you is never ending. You are the reason that I live and breathe. Life without you all would be incomplete for me. Your all so unique and special. I love your hugs and smiling faces , the sound of your laughter can always lift my spirits. You guys make me proud, you guys make me crazy but most of all you guys make me happy to be your Mom.

Love Always,
Mommy

To my Mom,
              Thank you for every single piece of my laundry you ever washed. Thank you for every home cooked meal you made for me. Thinking back  I guess you did cook us breakfast once or twice back in the day (inside joke). As a Mom myself I know how much laundry is done without notice and how many good meals are eaten without much fan fair . Thank you for loving me enough to spank me and ground me so I learned from my mistakes.  For all the help with last minute school projects and forgotten homework I want to say I am thankful. You supported me and encourage me through the years. And I look forward to the many years ahead.

Love Always,
Your Daughter

To my Mother In Law,
                        What I did right in life to end up with such a jewel of a Mother In law I will never know. I am blessed beyond words to have someone so special, caring, and loving. You should teach classes for the other Mother In Laws of the world.  I love you and you mean the world to me. Your sons are such good men and I am sure that comes from having such an awesome Mom.

Love Always.
Your Daughter too

Time at the park

Peter Pan

I have talked before about the upcoming spring school play. I was all excited a few months back with Macy playing the part of Wendy and Logan was Mister Smee.

All the while Logan had his feathers alittle ruffled over his part feeling like it wasn't a leading roll and as a 8th grader he deserved better role. Logan added so much to the play, his goofy comedic side made Smee a favorite character to the audience. I watched the play myself a handful of times and every single time he made me crack up. He was so believable and gave it his all. He was the perfect fit for the role and he shined.

Macy did a awesome job with not just her lines but the solo and dance she had to do all 8 performances! She gave the play feeling and emotion . The song was great too and every time it seemed to get better and better. Seeing Macy center stage singing gave me flash backs to her singing her first solo in the role of Mother Goose back when she was in first grade.

Words can not express how proud I am of my kids. They are talented no question. I helped backstage for several shows and it was interesting to observe the cast getting nervous right before the show began. If Logan and Macy got nervous you couldn't tell , they shine on stage and I hope they stick with acting for years to come.

Such a Character!

I came home from the store the other day to find Collin outside playing in this outfit. I love the red flip flops! Priceless.

This Thursday and Friday is the school play Peter Pan. I have been assisting with practice and the play is just great. Logan is perfect for his role as Smee and Macy does an awesome job as a lead role Wendy and on her solo performance. I can't wait to see it all come together with costumes and backdrops.

Logan started spring football practice yesterday and the school year is winding down. We are all anxious for the lazy days of summer that will be here before we know it.

The garden is growing like crazy and I will post pictures soon. So far so good on the success of using containers.

All is well here just busy, nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year.

Surprise!

We pulled off the surprise party for Logan on Saturday afternoon. Because of the massive amounts of rain coming down we couldn't hide everyone's cars.  But he was pretty surprised when they pulled down the street to see all the familiar vehicles parked in front of the house.

It was awesome for everyone to join us to celebrate. Logan was very pleased with the games, cash, and room makeover that included a new HD flat screen tv, new queen size bed and bedding and awesome new entertainment center with places to put the xbox and drawers for the controls and games!! 

It's hard to get a surprised 14 year old to take a decent picture. Below are some pictures from the party.

14 years ago

This time 14 years ago I was extremely ill and extremely pregnant with my first child. I was so ready to meet my first born because I knew caring for him on the outside of my body had to be easier. I had spent the entire pregnancy with morning, noon and night sickness.

His cute little Peter Rabbit nursery was awaiting him. There was a closet full of tiny clothes and itty bitty diapers. My bag had been packed for months and all we needed was the little bundle to make his appearance. But this time 14 years ago we were still waiting and we would do so for another 6 long days.

I thought I was prepared. I had all the gear and the basic know how to care for a baby. I had read the books and taken the suggested classes. But there are some things the books and classes can't prepare you for. There is no true understanding on how you will love your child at first sight. How you would go through anything for their well being and happiness.  That you will always sleep with one ear listening out for them during the night. And when they are in pain or struggle it is harder for you to watch then it is for them to endure.

Just 14 years ago I was not a mother just yet. I did not know yet motherhood would be the best yet the hardest job I will ever do. I did not understand how raising children is like letting your heart walk outside your body. You have to experience this to fully grasp it. Logan will have a birthday on Monday but it is a birthday of sorts for me too. It's the day I became a mother for the first time and I began to fully understand why mother bears act the way they do about their cubs.

 While we are singing and having birthday cake my mind will drift back to that very first day of Logan's life. I remember being at the hospital early in the morning to be induced. I waddled my extremely swollen self to the L&D floor of Brookwood Hospital for the final time. The induction soon was underway and the contraction were slowly getting stronger. Brian held my hand and tried to keep the conversation going. It seemed like forever past before I could get an epidural because I was not dilating much at all but the contraction were consistent and strong . The doctor had told the awaiting grandparents it looked like we were headed to an c section for several hours. When he came in an announce we were having a c section I was releaved yet scared. Off we headed to the OR when very soon after they handed over that beautiful chubby cheeked baby boy. He was such a beautiful newborn. I was in love with him from the moment I saw him and I still am today. We've come a long way in 14 years and I look forward to many years ahead.

Happy Birthday Logan. I love you!

Week in review

Last week was busy one for sure. Brian was in California at a conference Monday-Friday so I got to play single Mom for a few days. It really seemed to help the days to go by faster to get the little boys out of the house some during the day. 

The pictures below are some snapshots from during the week. One day Collin and I decided to planted flowers and vegetable plants . Molly drew some really cute pictures with  sidewalk chalk . Hudson looked like such a big boy in his button up shirt and the weather was just beautiful outside.I had to snap a few pictures of him in the sunshine. On Thursday my Mom kept Collin and Huddy so I could go with Parker's class on a field trip to Desoto Caverns. We had such a awesome time!

The week was pretty uneventful and relaxed. I was worried how I would manage Molly's softball schedule and my Boot camp class but luckily Molly's team had an off week and my inlaws came over to hold the fort down so I could go to class.  I hope to be around here more that things are back to normal.

Birthday Boy

Brian is headed to California for a conference.

Today is his 37th Birthday.

He is loving his new Ipad.

I am considering the 5 days in California part of his birthday present .

We had a nice dinner last night with the rest of the Moon family (Maw,Das,Pat,Lori, Blaze, Phoenix).

Brian is having dinner at a Mexican Restaurant tonight I hope they sing to him and he wears a big sombrero.

Happy Birthday Brian !!!

Our All-Star

This is player who has  heart. Molly has suffered from Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis also called JRA since 2 years old.  I would bet you no other little girls on the team ache for days and need to take pain medication after each game. She doesn't complain but her attitude and sighs give it away that she is hurting. She just loves playing on the team, she's eager to learn and gives it her best shot. 

I am doing a boot camp workout class 3 times a week and it is by far the toughest thing I have ever done. I am a firm believer in no pain no gain so I keep on going back. I do wish I would have been tough enough many years ago to work through the pain to gain some success. Molly is showing me some things in life are worth the pain. She's a trooper and I am proud of her.

Easter 2010

We had a low key Easter at the homestead. We made a nice ham dinner with lots of different side (my favorite) and invited Maw and Das to join us. The kids and I baked a bunny cake yesterday and we also dyed eggs that we made into deviled eggs today. The kids waited all day for the afternoon egg hunt. I am not sure if our egg hunt is fun or a big failure but every year they look forward to it. It is definitely not the peaceful happy egg hunt other people seem to have. Our egg hunt is a cut throat competition and there is always someone mad and crying once its said and done. I have grown to accept the Moon kids take this egg hunt thing serious. Someone will be called a cheater ,someone else will be in tears over their lack of eggs, and it will be chaos without question.This year I made up some little reward slips for some of the eggs.

The score went like this:

Hudson- Could careless about the whole hunt and would rather slide or run around barefoot.

Collin-  He was allowed all the easy to find eggs and ended up with 13 and cried because it was over and wanted to play again. He got 2 prize slips 1 trip for ice cream and one pass to eat in the living room and a $1 for having the most eggs.

Parker- He gather 8 eggs and called it unfair and claims people cheated. He was so mad over not having prizes in his eggs and being recorded on video that he pitched such a fit that he had a nosebleed on his white linen dress shirt.

Molly- She had 6 eggs with no special prizes and amazingly wasn't too upset over the whole thing. 

Macy- Her basket was overflowing and she ended up with 4 prize slips, 2 days of kitchen duty, candy bar of her choice and 1 pass to eat in the living room.

Logan- He didn't have alot of egg but he had 2 slips. He got the control of the TV for a day and a have a friend over slip. He seemed to think he was robbed because he had so few eggs. 

The video is funny to me to see them acting all upset and mad over silly plastic eggs. I plan to use it to embarrass them as they get older and become too cool for hiding eggs.Over all we had a nice family day even with the bit of competitive drama.

Catch Up not to be confused with ketchup

  

We had a spring break last week and we decided to stay home and do some home projects. The boys worked hard on the front flower beds and painted both Logan and Parker's bedrooms. It was nice not having the rat race of school and gave us all the itch for summer vacation. The picture of Collin was taken after he was running from Hudson and he ran straight into the bed post of my bed. He hit his eyebrow and it was quite a scene. He is recovering fine and will have a nice scar and story to tell someday.

 Molly is a busy bee right now. She is playing softball for the first time ever. She is already improving and I know this will be a great experience for her. Most of her games are on Tuesday and Thursday night. The same nights I have committed to my boot camp class so I miss out on those. This is not the norm for me but Molly has been understanding and knows I will be at every game I possibly can.

Macy went to Gulf Shores over spring break with her BFF Payton and her family. She sent this picture to her Daddy and told him she was going to bring him a souviner. We all had a good laugh over it. Parker played in the bubble bath with Hudson and called me in to check out his beard. He's such a ham!

Hudson got his first real hair cut. He had a bad case of the mullet going on and he needed a shaping up all over. He was a bit terrified at first but it wasn't anything a lime green sucker couldn't fix. He was not fond of the cape so we removed that too. He was sitting in my lap and I had Collin snap a few pictures. I wasn't expecting the pictures to be that good so I was pleasantly surprised with how well Collin's photography turned out. Notice Huddy's skinned up knees, he loves to play outside every afternoon with the big kids . Last weekend Brian and I went with the entire Dealnews staff to Blackberry Farms  in Tennesse. It was awesome to see all the coworkers both old and new. Brian has been with Dealnews for almost 12 years now. To celebrate Dealnews' 13th anniversary that now has close to 50 employees was a lot of fun. The place is beautiful, the service top notch, elegant but with a down home feel. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago that Brian was working from our garage as employee number 3. Back then we all believed things come turn out great but there is a bit of luck involved too. I am glad we rolled the dice and took that chance.

This week has been catching up from all the busyness from last week. The kids had SAT testing all this week and are excited to be wrapping up the school year. We have about 7 weeks left before summer break.  We are all looking forward to it.