"Convo w/a Toddler"

Toddlers are like sponges. They just soak up everything they see and hear.



Tuesday night M was putting E's little bookcase, for her DVD's & books together. It is very small, we are staying with M's parents for the time being, we've started looking for a place since M's new job rocks our world! I digress... her bookcase is small since E's room is what used to be her aunt Michelle's/the guest room. So In her room is a full sized bed and a dresser, all E's toys, all the toys that were already here for her cousins, Jori & Will- That includes the FULL kitchen set. Not to mention E's crib.

And while M was putting it together E wanted to help, naturally. So M told E to go get her Handy Manny tools, & with a quickness she did. She helped her daddy. Now all at once... AWWW.





Well this Morning I was drinking my coffee catching up on Y!News. Laughing @ some of the wacky headlines , when out of no where E said:

E: I fix it mama!! [grabs her toolbox & takes off for her room]
Me: [Calling from the family room to her room] You fix what hon?
E: My tools. I fix.
Me: [hearing banging & pounding- I get off my lazy butt & I peak in her room, she was fixing to bookcase like the night before with M] Oh you fix your bookcase?
E: yes mama. I fix it. [pointing to it] My dada. My dada.
Me: Yes you put that together with your dada, last night.
E: Meme big!
Me: E is a big girl.
E: [held her arms up like a big girl]
Me: I love you.
E: Yes mama. hug. hug.

...

Wednesday AM is when my WeightWatchers [WW] meeting is. I am not sure why I choose that day, but Wednesday was chosen back almost 2yrs ago when I decided I NEEDED to loose 65lbs. Going to WW is nothing out of the ordinary for E, as she has been going with me since she was 2wks old. It had snowed over night so when I woke up Wed. there was snow on the ground (about 1.5in) but I was in a hurry so I didnt mention it to E like I normally do. I just got her up & dressed so we [I] wouldn't be late. Once in the car on our way to the center:

E: Mama lookkkkk KNOW! KNOW! KNOWWWWWW! [how she says snow]
Me: Yep thats snow, Jack Frost decided to come for a visit last night.
E: Play know!! Play know... Me play! Uhhh uhhh!!!
Me: Use your big girl words, please.
E: Peeese play know.
Me: Thank you. Maybe after we get back home.
E: Ome now mama?
Me: We're going to Weight Watchers for mama then we will be going home, is that okay?
E: [I hear a HUGE sigh] Okay mama [in a very pouty voice]
Me: [pulling into a 15min parking spot] We won't be here very long. I promise. Ready to get out?
E: I walk? I walk?
Me: If you hold mama's hand.
E: No.
Me: If you don't hold my hand, you don't walk & you won't play in the snow when we get home.
E: hold mama!! I Hold. [makes kissy face.]

She wins, again.

This kid KNOWS how to A) WIN B) melt my heart... Her hugs & smooches get me EVERYTIME!

-She wins.

& Lastly:

I let E be independent. So when she runs off to another room in the house, I don't follow her. No need. The house is "E proofed"- Or so I thought. Out of no where E stood up and ran off. No big deal.

E: Bye mama
Me: Bye E

I hear her playing in her room, loudly. Then silence. I give it a minute or two before I go in there. When I go in she is "reading".
Me: You like that book?
E: Yah mam
Me: You want mama to read it to you?
E: No mama [gets up and runs away]

An hour later:
Me: Nappy time honey. Who do you want to sleep with you?
E: My car.
Me: Okay lets get one of your cars & try to go potty.
E: No potty, I peepee [points @ her diaper]
Me: Its okay , lets change your diaper and lay down.
I go to grab her wipies but they are empty. WTH? I had just filled it up. So I look and look and look and then BAMMM!!! There they are in the top of her Diaper Champ.

Me: Oh boy look at all those wipies!!
E: ::giggles::
Me: How did those get in here? [as I am salvaging what I can of said wipies]
E: [still giggling]
Me: Did you [poking in belly] put those in there?
E: yea [giggle]
Me: Wipies are not toys. Please don't do that again.
E: Ok mama. [very whiny]
Me: Def nap time
Since it happened more then an hr back I wasn't going to make a fuss or punish her. Children have short memory spans.

Shes a sneaky one!! That's what she must've been doing when she got all quiet; Used the book to trick me.

E- 2 Mama- 0

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Tomorrow's Friday!!

Can't wait to see you back here tomorrow @ Kandid Kelli...!!!

Keep up in between posts, I Tweet , do you?

"Mail Time"

I have the damn song from "Blue's Clues" - "Mail Time" stuck in my head. So I thought it appropriate for todays title. These slew of "Love" letters are well over due. We are over 3 weeks into 2010. I am slacking here.



...

Dear Ole Faithful,

You failed me Saturday. The turnpike?! Really?! Really?! It took me over 2hrs to get to little miss Es playdate @ Michelle & Brandon's house when it should've taken me about an hr! WTF?! Not only did you cause me to waste precious gas, but my TIME. We are not friends anymore until you do right by me. Get crackin, you hear.

Annoyed,
Owner of a 5.5 yr old MDX GPS
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Dear PA Weather,

I love that I am able to now accessorize with coats, scarves and BOOTS! Yes the boots, mainly my UGGS are great but please make up your mind. One day its 15* the next its 50* and raining. Gross. I experienced snow that was great, fun & cold. I don't need anymore. Mainly b.c I am scared to drive in it.

Thank You in advance,
Floridan gone North
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Dear Friendly Bathroom Scale,

I have been [trying] to stick to the plan as best as possible. I am not the cook. My snacks [minus the reeses and the doughnuts this weekend] are Weight Watchers friendly. I hope when I weigh-in Wed AM @ 9:30 I am down a few lbs. PLEASE OH PLEASE!! I beg of you!!

Desperately,
New-[ish] Lifetime Member
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Dear Leggins,

I love you. I love you more then my favorite jeans. I love you esp. paired with my UGGS or my J.Simpson thigh high boots & no matter what anyone says I will wear you as pants [when I have a long enough sweater or tunic]. Yes thats right PANTS! Judge away you judgers, but you know wear em too.

Lovingly,
Proud Legging Wearer
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Dear Toddlers of the World,

...or the one in the bedroom down the hall. I have instated a NEW rule. Well its not that new but for someone who isn't quite 2 yrs old its new. Its called SLEEPING IN. Its this thing where we sleep till at least 9am. NOT 6:freaking45 on a Saturday AM!!! Lets try it out this weekend, see how we like it [hint: we will like it] & go from there. Okay?

Tiredly,
Mama Bear
...

Only [6days] till the reveal of the new NAME & Design for the blog yall. Erin @ MyWayThisTime has been working really hard, or hardly working? To make this great. Hmm. JK. We shall see come Monday, Jan 25. I can't wait!
...

-Kelli-Sue

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"Beautiful does NOT come in a size"

Photo courtesy sungazing via Flickr.

Lauren over @ BusyBeeLauren wrote a blog a few days ago about having body image issues [BII].

To be honest, I don't know a woman who doesn't have them. I think every woman has something they don't [fully] like about their body, from one time or another. I KNOW I DO.

There were a few parts that stood out at me, this one part in particular:

"I have people tell me, "you are so thin!" but i look in the mirror and very literally see a fat girl staring back at me. it's weird though, because I see such beautiful women who might weigh a lot more than me, but i think they look amazing and gorgeous!"

Lauren is a beautiful woman in my opinion, but it doesn't matter what I think, she needs to feel it herself. Just like my mom, boyfriend, friends, random people can tell me how beautiful I am but until I look at myself and feel it, it is just words, VERY NICE WORDS, but words none the less, from other people.

I am a very petite woman @ only 5'0- 5'1. I weigh 120lbs, it took me a staggering 19mons to get to that weight from 185lbs.

I got up to 187.5 the day I gave birth. Now you say well KS you were pregnant. Yes I was, but to that I say I ONLY gained 35lbs. Before I got pregnant I had put on a lot of weight. I was in an unhealthy relationship.

I was a dancer for most of my life [18+yrs]. Whether it be ballet, jazz, lyrical, pointe, tap, I even tried my had at hip-hop; No matter what it was I was always moving. That helped keep me in shape but I always thought I was fat, no matter what. I was always trying to loose weight. I always wanted to look like "Her". "She" was so thin. I danced well into college, so when I gained the aforementioned weight, my BII were worse then ever.

I had been successful on WeightWatchers in the past so I joined when I had gained & wasn't loosing, I was gaining, slowly. What was wrong with this picture? I was sticking to the plan.

I WAS PREGNANT. While pregnant I stayed healthy & gained as directed by my doctor. I not only gained weight but the ever feared stretch marks [SM].

Anyone who knows me or knew me back in 2006 [I was 20], when I was at my smallest of 115-117 & my fittest, I was going to the gym 5 days a week, I was dancing 4 hrs a week in a ballet class, a 90 min pointe class & 2 other class knows I was "proud" of my accomplishment [yet still thought I could loose 5 more lbs].

So those SM were devastating. But I knew that I wanted to try to be thin again so I set a goal. I wasn't going to let anything/one stand in my way.

I knew what worked for ME. I wanted to be healthy again & lets face it being 185 and at 5'1 thats not healthy.

I had a hearty goal ahead of me: 65lbs. But as I lost it, I talked about it, I celebrated it, b/c thats what you do! Be happy celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how big or small.

Here another part of her blog that stuck out at me:

"So yes, I am losing weight. and yes, it might seem like a lot to some people. And yes, some people might be mad that I am openly discussing my weight loss, but it is all because I want to feel better about myself."

Thats what its about people. If it makes YOU feel better about YOURSELF to talk about TALK. Loosing weight is a HARD thing to do so when it is achieved I say SHOUT it from the rooftops!!


It took me 20 months to come to terms with my SM and realize they are no big deal. THEY ARE HERE TO STAY. I will NEVER be a size 2. I am happy at my size 6. Sometimes I can fit into a 4, thats RARE, but I am happy. I am healthy.

I DON'T want my daughter to grow-up in a house thinking she has to be a STICK to be beautiful. I don't want her to have the same BII I had growing up, ALWAYS thinking she needs to loose weight.

I am 23 years old & I am not saying that I will look in the mirror and never think to myself oh I need to loose x# of lbs but I think I have finally come to a point in my life where I have learned how to feel beautiful & how to teach my daughter what beautiful is, despite what America says what beautiful is.

BEAUTIFUL doesn't come in a size. BEAUTIFUL is all in how you carry yourself. BEAUTIFUL is how you feel in your own skin.

DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO TO FEEL BEAUTIFUL TODAY!
(as long as its healthy!)

Tell me WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL BEAUTIFUL?



...

Have a good weekend yall.

-Kelli-Sue

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"6, 8, MATERNITY,12,10, 8, 6, 4"

One of my LOVELY readers Nicole left this comment Friday: just thought about a new blog for you....how you lost weight. And I want DETAILS!!!!

So Here ya go Nicole... THANK YOU for the idea!! Loved it!!

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Weight Loss [for most] doesn't come easily. I know for me it didnt.

@ 119lbs I am 4lbs away from the smallest I have ever been (I was 115 for a short time in 06). Total I have dropped 66lbs.

It wasn't easy by any means. But I have such a small frame & I have always been very active in dance, C/WGuard & soccer & what not, that keeping that much weight on was horrible. Unhealthy even.

Granted 35 of it was "baby weight" -- yes I only gained 35lbs (which is normal... My Doc was pleased) but the rest was weight I put on b/c I let GD control me. He liked his women thick...nuff said.

After I gave birth to my beautiful daughter I was determined to loose ALL the weight. A healthy but efficient way.

So after doing A LOT of research I went back to ole faithful: Weight Watchers.

Two weeks after E was born I re-joined. I had lost about 13lbs back in 05 after putting on some weight in college & it was effecting my dancing.

I stuck to the plan- very strictly & took E on nightly walks; Thats all the exercise I was allowed to do at the time. Then when I hit 6wks postpartum and got the "All Clear" to start working out from my OB I started slow.

I did some Wii Fit & Another Wii aerobics thing . That helped more then ppl think. Then I took my stepdads "spot" with my parents trainer. My stepdad got sick then he got a hernia and totally couldnt workout with weights. I only worked out w.Ric for 30 min sessions. Sometimes twice a week but usually it was only once a week. I also rollerbladed behind the stroller.

So for those of you who think you have to do it daily. I am proof that you don't have too.

If you just make a conscious effort to park a little farther from the store entrance... Take the stairs (I get this times 5, bc of the stairs in my home) & watch what you eat. Portions & filling food help.

I took the "Slow & Steady" route. It took me about a yr to loose (& keep it off) the weight. I occasionally workout with Ric but not like before.

WEIGHT WATCHERS is designed to work with or without "hard-core" exercise. Plainly it WORKS. Go to the meetings- there are soo many locations & times I know you will find one that works for you. You can eat basically anything you want- just track your points. Its so easy.

I am still on weight watchers in a few weeks I will be what is considered "LifeTime" where I get the membership for free. Its very much a part of my life, its like second nature. I am keeping the weight off b/c I am still very much dedicated to WW & I see the final "product" everyday when I look in the mirror and when I slip into my size 4 jeans.

Thats ALL the proof I need that I made the right decision [for me] to re-join WW.

(June 08) BEFORE:


Exactly 1yr Later (June 09) AFTER:


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KEEP YOUR QUESTIONS COMING, I LOVE THEM & @ THE END OF THE MONTH I WILL COMPILE AND ANSWER THEM ALL! AS A GRAND FINALE! THX!!

Don' forget I am giving away a [custom] piece of jewelry (check here for an idea) to the reader who comments the most throughout the month of Oct.

Good luck & Happy Commenting! :)

**Limit... 2 comments per post, per person**

Thx for sticking with me [us]... the journey has just begun!


-Kelli-Sue


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