hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to middle school we go!

Kaitlyn started middle school yesterday.  It's hard to believe that my baby girl is in 6th grade!!  She has been so nervous about this.  She went for a tour of the middle school last year and said that there was a lot of pushing and shoving in the hallway.  So, her fear has been that she was going to be shoved into a locker. Well, the lockers are pretty small, so we have convinced her that that is not going to happen. :) 

Sunday night, she started crying because she was just straight up scared about going to school.  She said she didn't want to go, but couldn't tell me why she didn't want to go.  The only thing I could get out of her is because it's a new location.  When we said our prayers that night, I started crying before I even started praying.  She finally went to sleep around 10:30 or so.  Yesterday morning, she was pretty nervous but didn't cry.  I prayed with her again before we pulled into the school, and now that I look back on it, that may have been the breaking point.  She started crying as soon as I got to the drop off point.

She opened her door to get out and the tears came.  She said she didn't want to go, but she dried up her tears and went on in.  I, however, cried all the way to work.  I sent her several text messages throughout the day so that she would see them when she turned on her phone at the end of the day.  I just wanted her to know that I had been thinking about her.  I was a nervous wreck.  But, at the end of the day, I get this text, "it was so cool." That's it.  No other details. Nothing.  I couldn't wait to get home to hear about it.

She liked her teachers.  She said they were all funny.  Her art teacher is pretty strict.  He has two rules.  Rule #1 - he's always right.  Rule #2 - always remember rule #1.  One teacher loves dogs.  Another teacher has 3 kids and another loves blue.  She said they have nasty ranch dressing but they serve sweet tea there.  She's going to have to keep ranch dressing in her locker (she loves it!) but hopefully the sweet tea will make up for the nasty dressing!  She also has one friend, Alasya, that is in almost every class with her.  Alasya did not have her schedule with her yesterday, so she got lost a bunch.  Kaitlyn said she finally ended up taking Alasya with her so she would quit getting lost.

We decided to go to Huddle House to eat supper last night, and I went into her room to get her, and she was laying in her bed crying.  I asked her what was wrong and she said that she didn't want to go back.  I asked her why and she said a couple of kids had picked on her.  Apparently some older kids made chicken noises at her in the lunch room and some 8th graders asked her why she was wearing rain boots.  She wasn't wearing rain boots, but was wearing some knee high black boots.  I told her the same rules apply in middle school as they did in elementary school.  She is to stand up for herself.  If she gets in trouble, we will deal with it.  But if students pick on her, she needs to dish it right back.  If they know that she is not going to stand for it, they will leave her alone. 

I hope today is better for her.  She didn't eat breakfast this morning because she had butterflies.  But, she did wear her boots again. :)

First day of middle school, 8.20.12

I survived!!

I SURVIVED BOOT CAMP!!

 
It ran for a month and ended on Wednesday, 8.15.12.  It was rough to begin with, but as we got more and more into it, it actually got easier.  I couldn't admit that as I was doing it, but the last week, I noticed that I was able to get through 50 crunches or 100 leg flutters without stopping.  I could do 30 dips with ease, and got through 133 push ups the last night without passing out.  Definitely a huge success from where I  was the first night when I couldn't do 5 deep lunges without screaming in pain.

So, I have a dress that I have used as a guide to show me where I am as far as my weight loss goes.  I wore this dress for Easter and Kevin and I had our picture made with Elaina in it.  One day, I wore the dress and one of my students saw the picture and said, "Julie, look at how different you look!"  I hadn't realized until then just how far I had come.  So, this dress became my guide.

Easter 2012, 4.8.12

I wore this dress yesterday (8.16.12) to meet with my Nutrionist. When I showed her this picture, and she compared it to where I am right now, she was slightly speechless.  She said she knew that I was smaller, but did not realize just how much smaller until she compared the before and the now.  She made me feel really good.  It also made me feel really good when she ran down Dr. Lovelady and showed him the picture. :) Nothing like getting praise from your doctor for doing what he says!!

Here is a picture Kevin took of Kaitlyn and I last night before we went to her Middle School orientation.

To date I have lost 17 pounds.  For boot camp alone, I lost 3.4 pounds.  However, during boot camp, I lost a combined 10.5 inches!!  I plan to keep up with the exercises that he taught us at home, as well as going to the gym on campus.  I am seeing results now, which is not something that I have never done in the past when dieting.  I am LOVING this!!

They took my lung!

That's what I found out today.  Not the whole lung, just a part of it.

When I had the tumor removed from my lung last year, I was told that they didn't take any of my lung out.  Well, they told me a story!!  Let me give you a little back history.

In June, 2011, I had a schwannoma removed from my right lung.  It was larger than an egg, solid with nerves and blood vessels all entwined in it and was positioned between my right lung and chest cavity.  When we first went to the doctor about it, he thought it was a liquid filled cyst and that he could make a 2-3 inch incision, drain it and be done with it.  But, I can NEVER do anything the simple way. :)

I ended up with a 9 inch incision, in CICU for 4 days with a chest tube and recovering from one of the most painful surgeries I have ever been through.  For the full story, check out my facebook note and see how the whole ordeal played out.

Anyway, for the past 6 months or so, my breathing has really been compromised.  I haven't been able to take a full breath of air and at times feel like I can't breathe at all.  My family doctor referred me to a Pulmonologist who ran some tests on my heart and did a pulmonary function test.  The tests on my heart came back great.  Everything looked normal. But my lungs were a different story.

He said my lungs, specifically my right lung where the tumor was, is significantly restricted and doesn't expand as it should.  He asked me how much of my lung they removed when they took the tumor out.  I told him that I was told they had not removed any of it.  He said, "well, they did."  Great. 

I don't know how much of my lung is missing, I just know some of it is missing.  How strange is that?  It's odd for someone to tell you that a piece of one of your most vital organs is just gone.  I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around that.  No wonder I can't breathe!

I am now on two different inhalers - one twice a day regularly and one for emergency situations.  He said that I will be on these inhalers indefinitely. 

While the news was not what I expected, it could have been so much worse.  Through all of this, I can't do anything but Praise God!!  This experience has taught me to rely on Him when things are way beyond my control.  I still struggle with that daily, but when I do, He finds a way to get my attention again.  Having someone tell me that part of my lung is missing is a GREAT way to get my attention, God.  Thanks!

No pain, no gain

So, I have my first work out injury.  It seems that I have strained my left shoulder.  Wednesday night, our exercise was focused on our arms. We did overhead claps, front claps, plank walks, pushups, push aways and stood with our arms stretched out even with our shoulders for minutes at a time.  My shoulder apparently did not like this exercise.  I can barely lift it today.

On a side note, I am down to 176.4 pounds.  That's a total loss of 16 pounds.  I have lost 8.5 inches and I am down 1.5 sizes in clothes.  I guess the "no pain, no gain" saying is actually true.

i'm losing weight, post one......

So, I have to lose weight.  The doctor said so.

In May, I went to see Dr. Lovelady because my heart was beating irregular and I was having issues with my breathing.  I just didn't feel like I could get a full breath of air.  I was really afraid that my lungs were affected worse than everyone thought from my lung surgery last year.  But, I was told that I needed to lose about 50 pounds, stop drinking caffeine, eliminate stress and start exercising more.  My first thought was, "You're not asking for a whole lot, are you?" Anyway, he set me up with the nutritionist in his office and told me to come back in a month.

I met with Audrey for the first time on May 24.  I weighed in at 192 pounds.  She put me on a diet plan that consisted of eating about 1,400 calories a day, drinking 64 ounces of water, no regular sodas and we began working on the caffeine issue.  My goal was to be completely off of the caffeine when I saw Dr. Lovelady again at the end of June.  We decided to start with 30 pounds and see how I felt and how I looked and then re-evaulate to see if I wanted to lose more weight, or just maintain.  She said that while the doctor had good intentions, sometimes it's better for the patient to make the decision on how much weight to lose based on how they feel.  I think 30 pounds is a good place to start. 

For the first month, I saw Audrey every week.  When I went for my first follow up on May 31, I weighed in at 188 pounds.  I had worked myself down from drinking regular Dr. Pepper from sun up to sun down to drinking about 3 diet sodas a day and around 56 ounces of water a day.  So, the first week was a success.

When I went in for my second follow up on June 7, I weighed in at 183.4 pounds and was down to one caffeinated soda per day.  I had discovered Diet Sierra Mist by this time and was falling in love with it!  I was up to drinking 5-6 bottles of water per day, which was a HUGE success for me.  I had also discovered Mio flavoring for water and would actually put down a soda in favor of water with Mio. 

I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Lovelady on June 26.  I was happy to report that I was off caffeine and had lost 9 pounds in one month! I was very excited and he was very happy with my results!  The irregular heartbeat had corrected itself with the elimination of caffeine.  The breathing issues were still a concern, so he referred me to a Pulmonologist.  He ordered an echocardiogram of my heart and a breathing test.  I have not gotten the results yet, so I'm still not sure what is going on with my breathing. 

I didn't go back to see Audrey until June 28.  We were headed to the beach the following weekend, and I wanted to wait until closer to beach time to see where I was and to get some tips for controlling myself at the beach.  When I went for this follow up, I weighed in at 180.8 and was completely off caffeine.

While we were at the beach, I gained only one pound!  This surprises me because I had TCBY 3 nights in a row. :) But, I got right back on my diet when we got home and when I went back to see Audrey yesterday (July 19) I weighed in at 179.  So, in total, I have lost 13 pounds since May 25 when I started my diet.  I've been dieting 8 weeks today - that's an average of 1.62 pounds per week.  Not too shabby.

I started a weight loss boot camp last night.  This is a work out program that runs for a month, 3 work outs per week.  Hopefully, this will get me started with the work out portion of my diet.  I'm anxious to see the results of this as well. 

This is a "before" picture.  Not the best, but I generally avoid the camera because of how bad pictures are of me.  If I do have my picture taken, I generally just have them taken of my face.  I'll try to post pictures as I continue this journey of losing weight. 

Beaches, babies and bumper boats

We took our annual trip to Gulf Shores the week of July 4th - me and Kevin, Morgan, Elaina, Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn's friend, Emma, from Church.  We were PACKED!!  I wish I had taken a picture of the back of the truck, but I just didn't think about it.  But, it was so full, we probably could not have put a sheet of paper in there and gotten the top to close. :)  I forgot how much stuff a baby needs!!

We left on Sunday, July 1.  The condo we stayed in is the same condo we have stayed in for the past 10 years.  We rented it from a guy that Kevin works with, but they have sold it to a lady in New Orleans.  We did not like the way she did business, so we will not use her again.  It was bittersweet to say goodbye to the condo - it's been a home away from home for so many years. :(  But, oh well.  We looked at a couple of other places to stay, so hopefully we can find something that we like as much as we liked this condo.

Anyway, back to vacation.  We weren't able to check in until 4pm this year (it's usually noon) so we didn't leave as early as we usually do.  We got there around 4:30 and unloaded.  Kevin and I went to the grocery store while the girls stayed and unpacked.  We finally got in the pool around 7pm.  Pure Bliss!!

The weather was yucky a good bit while we were there.  I think total, we had sunshine 2.5 days of the 5 full days we were there.  None of us wore sunscreen and none of us got sunburned at all.  That's good in a way, but I miss my beach tan.

On Monday night, we went to eat at Mikee's, which is a new place for us to eat and it was delicious! We will definitely go there again.  Afterwards, we walked on the beach and put Elaina's feet in the ocean for the first time.  That little girl is definitely going to be a water baby!!

Kaitlyn and Emma checking out the ocean

 

PaPa gave her her first seashell. How sweet is that?

Kevin and his girls

So, I have developed a fascination with alligators.  We saw

this one on the beach and I had to take a picture of it.

 This was the entertainment for the night one night while we 

were there.  Can't explain it - it just is what it is.

This is how Elaina spent her first day trip to the beach - all 20 

minutes of it.

While we were at the beach, Kevin and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary (July 3).  We had a date night at the beach for the first time ever!  He took me to Ribs and Reds.  Not the best place we have ever eaten and probably not one that we will return to.  After eating, we drove around and looked at some other condos to rent.  We can ride around together for hours, and we did.  For about 2.  We had decided earlier in the week that we were going to go eat ice cream for our anniversary.  So, we went to TCBY and shared a Cookie Dough frozen yogurt.  It was SO good!!  Of course, no date night is complete without a trip to WalMart, even at the beach. :) So, we went to WalMart, but I can't remember what for.  Probably drinks or something like that.  Then we went home to fighting kids.  Oh the wonderful world of teenagers!!

The next night was July 4th and we planned to watch fireworks on the beach.  Kaitlyn had to have the perfect outfit for that, even though no one would see it, because it was dark.  But, that's the diva in her.  Emma wore shorts and a t-shirt.  I love this kid!  Below are a couple of pictures from before we left.

 The only family picture we had made the entire trip.  This was on the

beach before the fireworks began.  Definitely one of my favorite of all time!

While we all watched fireworks, Kaitlyn played in the sand.

This is her version of a sea turtle.  I love my child!!

 Thursday night, we took the girls to The Track to ride go carts and play in the bumper boats.  Elaina just watched the crowds and took everything in.  She is definitely a PaPa's girl and just lights up whenever he comes in a room, or where she can see or hear him.  If she was fussy at all, he could walk in where ever she was and just speak to her and she would calm down.  If he picked her up, the look on her face would be total bliss!  The picture below is of them watching the girls in the bumper boats.  She reminds me a lot of Kaitlyn when she was that age.  Kaitlyn acted the same way with him.  She could be fussy and crying and he could walk in a room and say one word, or touch her, or pick her up and her world would become calm again.  I don't know what kind of magic this man has running through his veins, but I thank GOD for it when I have crying babies in my life!!

I'm sad that our trip for this year is over.  I hope we can get back to the beach again before next summer. What I really wish is that we could retire there!  I love the beach - it's my Heaven on earth.

All Stars 2012

Kaitlyn was honored this year to be selected to play on the East Tuscaloosa All Stars team for 12U softball.  We played in the Regional Tournaments in Jasper, which was a double elimination tournament, the weekend of June 8-9.  We played two games on Friday night and three games on Saturday.

The games on Friday night started at 7pm.  We FINALLY pulled into the house at midnight that night.  They won one and lost one that night, but those were games to determine what seat they would be in on Saturday morning.

We had to be back in Jasper at 9:30am on Saturday and the girls started playing at 10:30.  These games were double elimination.  We lost our first one, won our second and lost our third.  This tournament was to determine if we were able to go to the state competition.

The girls played so hard!  They didn't get more than a 30 minute break between games and didn't eat anything all day.  Kevin was an assistant coach for Kaitlyn's team, so he didn't get to eat either.  I didn't eat, because it was hot. So, when we finally left, we were all three starving!

Anyway, because they lost two games, they were not supposed to get an invite to the state competition the weekend of June 24-25 in Wetumpka.  But, one of the teams that got invited decided not to go, so our girls got a invite!  We were so proud of them!

So, on June 24, we packed up the car and headed to Wetumpka.  The girls played their first game on Friday at 2:30, and lost.  This tournament was not like the Regional Tournament - the game on Friday counted against the double elimination.

They played their second game on Saturday morning at 11am, and lost.  We were headed home by 1:30.  But, even though they lost, they had a great season.  Kaitlyn learned a lot from her All Star coaches and I am extremely proud of her.  When she is on the field, she gives it her all (most days) and I just love to watch her play.

 Batter up!!

Last minute advice from Dad/Coach

I absolutely LOVED that the coaches and players held hands and

prayed after every game!!

Kaitlyn D and Katelyn T - 

Best Friends and TROUBLE!!