Busy Weekend

Hello. Sorry for the delay in posting but it's been a busy weekend. Plus the hubby has Sun/Mon off so I'm not on here much those days. Anyways.....This heatwave has been driving me bonkers. Keeping these kids in the house is hard! My son is bouncing off the walls and all my daughter wants to do is eat! The baby could care less. Sunday we went to see my brother-in-law & sister-in-law. She's up for the summer from Tenn. to help him out w/ his kids. After that, we had what I was hoping would go well but not holding my breath on it dinner. It was about an hour & a 1/2 past our normal dinnertime. Surprisingly, it went fine. Alison was being a little difficult about waiting for the food. You see, when we do go out, it's usually to the Chinese buffet. This time we went to Red Lobster. I got a gift card for taking a survey. Stephen was very well behaved to my delight! When he acts like that, you almost forget about the autism. Monday we went to the safari @ Great Adventure. The kids love getting to see the animals up close.



The giraffe licked one of the windows! They really got a laugh out of that one!

Today didn't start off so well, my keys got locked in the van! Guess they must have fell out yesterday during the fun! Stephen got VERY upset that we couldn't go anywhere this morning! He was yelling, screaming, being mean.....you name it! He even tried to go outside on his own! So much for forgetting about autism! I'm hoping this week will go well. I had told them about going to a friend's farm but that might not be happening. Hopefully they'll forget or at least take it well. Hubby has 3 days off w/ the holiday & we might go to a park and meet up w/ the in-laws (his bro & sis). We'll see what happens.....until next time!

How to Keep Your Diet on Track

How to Keep Your Diet on Track

I was just talking about diet earlier! Blogging this more so I don't lose the link but if it helps someone else, yeah!

It Takes a Village (stress part 2)

The saying is that it takes a village to raise a child....but what do you do if there is no village?!? In our case, there really isn't one. Both sets of grandparents are gone & the closest relative is my sis who is 1/2 hr away and has 4 kids of her own! We're a 1 income family so getting sitters isn't always an option even if we could find one who would sit for 3 kids: 1 infant, 1 princess, and 1 kid w/ an asd. Hubby does pest control & is on the road every day. His schedule varies & he doesn't know what time he'll be getting done till part way through the day @ best! Makes it hard to plan anything during the week that's for sure! So pretty much the village is ME!!! You can see how I get so stressed sometimes. The computer is my only real adult conversation/interaction throughout the day, except for the occasional trip to ShopRite or Wal-Mart. Hubby wonders why the house is a mess....b/c I'd go INSANE if I didn't have some sort of feedback during the day. You see, I am a very social person: talk to everyone, had jobs where I was very people-centered. I don't think I could go back to work at this point: I'd miss too much of the baby's development & what I'd make would barely cover day-care (so not worth it).....but I miss people, having friends. Mommy burn out is close. Hopefully I can find a way to recharge the ol' battery soon!

STRESS!!!!!

It's only 1/2 way through the day & I already wish it was over! Alison & Stephen have been fighting non-stop. Before you say "that's all kids", remember I have 1 child w/ a form of autism. Picture every typical kid meltdown magnified: louder (he does have my big mouth), more aggressive, and longer lasting. The smallest thing can trigger him, even just being hungry. And of course being the typical child, Alison pushes his buttons & doesn't know when to stop! I wish I was one of those people who didn't eat when they were stressed but I'm not!

In the last 1/3 of my life, I've probably gained and lost a person! It all started when I lost about 30lbs when I was 23. I got down to about 130lbs & still kept my "figure" if you know what I mean, lol. Boy did I look good!
I have gone up, down & up every which way since then. Right now I'm in the neighborhood of about 215lbs & at only 5'1" w/ my shoes on, that's not good!
I know how do lose the weight, but I never seem to be able to stick with it. I let the everyday stresses of life, along w/ the major ones, get to me & I slide. I know this is not good for me & I want to be healthy and set a good example for my children, especially my daughter.

Hello

This is my 1st ever blog post. Welcome! The craziness has begun! Summer vacation has started & there's a big heatwave. Because of this, we're all stuck in the house! Is it September yet?!?!? Trying to get my older ones to not fight & let the baby sleep is going to be the hardest. Luckily we do have some activities planned: trips to the safari, a few beach days & a mini-vacation to Baltimore in August. Hopefully I won't be bald (from pulling out my hair) or blow up (from eating too much) before the summer's out!