Proud Mama

Brrr, I hate football when I have to watch in the snow. This year I'm investing in some good boots that keep my feet warm no matter what! Anyway, I had a proud mama moment today. Though I'm not one to brag, I am a bit proud of my cute son, Max. Max's football team played West today. West has only lost 1 time in the past 5 years! The game today was to determine who would go to the final playoffs. (honestly, I don't mind when they lose because that shortens the season) 0-0 and the game was over. By this time, I knew my feet were goners but I actually didn't pay attention to them because it was intense. Double over time. Suddenly, I look over and number 36 is running in to make a touchdown. "Oh my gosh, that's Max! That is Max who made the touchdown to win the game!" I was so excited! Such a proud mama moment for me. He was on cloud 9 all day. It was magical!
Unfortunately, it wasn't as magical as I had hoped because I had to go home and make lunch for everyone. No wand for me to shake and have instant lunch on the table.
I'm grateful for great days like today.

Liar Liar Pants on Fire!

I read this on Pinterest and I couldn't disagree more! Believe me, I am NOT trying to be a pessimist or discouraging. It's been a month and a half since I have eaten a sugary treat. I still crave them, I still want them, this is still hard for me. Yes, it's easier to say no and it's easier to pass up a candy bar. I'm just saying the 21st day wasn't this magical for me. It's not 21 days = a life time. Saying "no" to treats has been an eye opening experience for me. It has taught me that I am addicted to sugar, it's my emotional crutch. It has helped me deal with "issues" that I would normally turn to sugar for to solve my problems. The benefits for resisting sugar are far more rewarding than diving into temptation. I allow myself one treat a month and when I ate mine (apple cobbler and ice cream), my stomach ached and I felt sick. Food tastes better now. Non sugary foods are more flavorful. I like to make healthier choices because I know I will feel better when I do. I don't feel deprived. I am almost at the point that I believe I will live if I don't eat a treat ever again. I probably will eat treats again. My point is: don't believe everything you read but that doesn't mean you can't give it a try!

Seven

Maggie turns 7 today. Seven? Wow! She is just as excited as ever that today is her birthday. She specifically chose this cookie at the store this morning as her birthday treat. She LOVES dogs. She'll spot one anywhere and run up to them to see if she can say hello. One day we were driving by a man in our area and we were talking about his name and she said "I don't know what his name is but his dog's name is Pepper.

There's a diva-ness in Maggie, and I swear, she didn't get it from me. She really thinks she is top notch. And why not? No need to burst her bubble when I know it will be burst plenty of times in her life.


This photo of Maggie pretty much describes it all. (bottom right).

Here are a couple of things Maggie has said that made me laugh:

• Maggie pushed Claire down and exclaimed, "NOBODY messes with Maggie!"
• Alison, "Maggie, you can't leave your homework until the last minute. You have to start being responsible!" Maggie, "what is responsible?"
• Maggie talking to a teacher at the school. "Today is my birthday!" Teacher, "Happy Birthday. I know your brother, Max." Maggie, "yeah, I beat him up all the time. I am really aggressive."

My question is how does Maggie know what aggressive means and not responsible?

There isn't one thing I'd change about Maggie. Well, maybe if she could be a tiny more responsible about going to school. Other than that, she makes a perfect 7 year old!

Goodbye...

My friend, Jen, died last week. Boy, did I ever love her. We met years ago when our boys started playing football. There's something about a parents sitting around a football field, shooting the breeze. Our kids ended up playing on different teams but every year I always wished they had played on the same team so I could see Jen. Jen was genuine, she said things like they were. I remember looking at her, talking about her long hair extensions, and examining her all dolled up. We'd talk about her pink hair strand and everything she had to do to keep up with her look. She loved Diet Coke, just about as much as I do. Though I didn't see her all the time we played Words With Friends and we started Pinterest at the same time. This past month I saw Jen twice at work and I saw her at the store. She's the kind of person I would see and my heart would light up because I was so happy to get to chat for a few minutes. When we were at the store we laughed at the over zealous football parents, her husband being one of them. I was shocked when I heard that she died. "Wha?" It wasn't in the plans. It was out of the blue. "Noooo, not Jen, not yet." She has two boys, the cutest kids. How could this be? As much as I enjoy a good laugh (especially with Jen), there are times in life where we have to STOP and think why things happen the way they do. To see a family with a big loss, it's time to STOP and give my kids a bigger hug than I normally do. STOP and appreciate the time we have together. STOP and tell my family and friends how much I love them and appreciate them. Goodbye my friend. I love you.

"What the caterpillar calls the end of life. The master calls a butterfly"

etc., etc., etc.

• Look at my recent wreath I made. Idea found on Pinterest! I ended up giving it to my niece, Maddie, as a wedding gift. I'll be making the next one for me!

• Maggie brought home a "red note" which is a no-no in first grade. Instead of participating in "learning time", she played in the bathroom. I tried very hard not to laugh when she told me about it.

• The twins started preschool this week. They both woke up, put on their backpacks and wanted to go to school in their pajamas. Many are asking, "what will you do with your 2.5 hours?" Let me just say that it's the fasted 2.5 hours of my life.
  

• I've decided that I am going to have all my diets on the back of my gravestone when I die. Maybe I can have Andy put them in my eulogy when he submits it to the paper. None-the-less, I'm still going to share that it's been two weeks since I've eaten sugar. My super fabulous friends, Anthony and Katy, have a deal going. No sugar for three months but we can have one treat a month. I suggested we do it for 4 months. Why go until December 1st and blow it the whole month of December? It has been super hard. So hard that I'd rather not eat sugar at all. I am addicted to sugar. As hard as it's been, it's also been the best thing for me to get my emotions in line and deal with stress without using sugar as my drug of choice. Fortunately, there is no sugar in Diet Coke!!

• When I posted last time, my friends commented that they were upset that I didn't mention how fabulous they were. From now on, I'll be putting some awesome adjectives when mentioning names so that people don't feel bad. This blog is really about them, right?
  

Amateur?

A couple of weeks ago I got a text from my friend Dallas. It said that if didn't have one of these 100 oz. mugs than I was an amateur coke drinker. Seriously? When did he become President of the Diet Coke Club? Later that night I was leaving work and my friend, Katy, asked if I'd be willing to follow her to Maverick to make sure she wasn't mugged while getting gas. My co-worker and funniest friend, Jeff, and I went into Maverick and decided to get a drink. Suddenly the 100 oz. mug flashed before my eyes.


I had to get it! You can see that I am very much amused with myself. We were laughing the entire time. You can barely fit that mug underneath the fountain. In fact, Dallas says he usually has to fill an extra cup and pour it into the mug.

My token picture sent to Dallas to tell him I'm IN THE CLUB! The mug barely fits in my fridge and it's really too heavy to enjoy the drink. I admit, I'm kind of embarrassed to bring the humongo mug into the the store to get it refilled.

By the way, don't bother looking up the word amateur on Google. When I typed it in to see how to spell it correctly, it didn't mention anything about the 100 oz. mug!

Perfectly Said!

Have you joined Pinterest? According to a friend, it's so old news. Really, who cares? I love it!