Success!

Week Three Weigh-In was today… Actually, my fourth time at a Weight Watchers meeting, and I’m SO PROUD of myself. I did not feel well, did NOT want to go today, but because I was meeting Mom and Betty there I went.

And I’m glad I did.

I lost 3.2 pounds this week. Probably all because of the antihistimines, but I don’t care WHY. I just care that it’s GONE. And my fat jeans are sloppy loose. It’s a nice problem. My skinny jeans are still too tight, but at least I don’t feel obscene in them anymore. So that’s a nice change.

So my total so far is 6.6 pounds! Yay for me!

There were two men at the meeting today, both checking in after only ONE week on the program, and one guy lost 19.6 pounds (!!) this week and the other one lost 12.4 pounds. Apparently this is typical for men — it just takes women longer to lose it.

My goal is to be in my skinny jeans — with a shirt tucked in — by July 4. I can do it. I fit into those a year ago, and I have less than 10 pounds to go to get to that point. So if I keep behaving myself as I have been, I should reach that goal. ๐Ÿ™‚

And if I get THERE, I’m ordering some new things for myself from jjill.com — I’m an obsessive corner-folder when their catalogs come. Probably the only clothing catalogs I hold onto after the first breeze-through. ๐Ÿ™‚

Houston, We Have Contact

In spite of Alice’s nasty ear infection (which, turns out, is two-for-one in the same ear, poor thing — she has an inner ear infection and an infection on the outside of her eardrum as well), I decided to go ahead with the potty training efforts this week.

Yesterday was messy. I started her out in thin panties — Care Bears, Dora, Nemo, flowers, whatever. She went through many pairs of panties. Finally took the panties off. Cleaned up several accidents, in spite of taking her to the potty every 20 minutes all day. She’ll do it when she damn well wants to, thanks.

Today was messy, but not AS messy. Probably went through 5 pairs of panties today.

But tonight? Tonight was a beautiful thing. The girls and I were watching Disney’s Tarzan (well, THEY were — I was knitting and chatting on the phone with my mom), and out of the corner of my eye I saw Alice toddle off to the bathroom and start pulling down her pants. I practically hung up on my mother and Helen and I both ran into the bathroom and the three of us clapped and cheered our way through Alice’s FIRST non-suggested trip to the potty!!!!

I remember from last time around that it just takes patience and determination. And carpet cleaner. And that FINALLY, the kid will get it (if they’re ready). I know that Alice will still probably go through a half-dozen pairs of panties tomorrow, but at least I know that the process IS being learned.

Praise God and Hallelujah. Even though I know we’re going to be starting the Potty Tour of North America again (we went to the potty in the doctor’s waiting room three times this afternoon — turns out she just wanted to wash her hands, though), it’ll SO be worth it to have the girls both out of diapers. Yay. ๐Ÿ™‚

More is Sometimes Too Much

Stacy complained that I haven’t been blogging. This is why. This is what I would have been blogging about. Do you REALLY want to know all this crap?

So, let’s see:
mid-March — Elaine has an allergic reaction to eye makeup, and looks like she’s been beaten up. Gets steroids.

March 30-April 7 or so — Rotavirus strikes our house. Helen had it first, and then Alice, Daddy, and Mommy got it two days later. Second year in a row for April Fool’s Day Rotavirus.

April 5-now — I have had major allergy problems… On April 20, I went to see the allergist for a regular checkup and had laryngitis. Got Flonase and eyedrops in addition to the Allegra I’m already taking.

April 20 or so — Helen develops a very deep chest cough. We go to the pediatrician and get cough meds for her. Mommy still has no voice.

April 26 — Helen starts spiking fevers of 102F and above, so we get the if-we-need-it antibiotic prescription filled that we had gotten the week before. She’s still coughing very deeply, and is now limp and miserable. Mommy still doesn’t really have much of a voice, and has now developed a nasty cough, too.

April 28 — I take Alice to the pediatrician because her behavior is weird and I suspect that her ear tubes may have come out and she’s getting an ear infection. Nope, they’re still in, and she’s fine. But the pediatrician looks at Helen and says, “Is she still sick?” and peeks in HER ears… Both nasty infected, to the point that the antibiotic that we’ve got her on isn’t going to kill it. So she gets a booster shot of “Elephant Gun” antibiotics, and we finish the course of the oral antibiotics afterwards.

April 29 — I managed to go to Paducah and not drink an entire bottle of Robitussin on the bus, though I considered it. I did consume most of a bag of cough drops, though.

May 4 — After three blissful days of not coughing at ALL, I start a deep chest cough again. Out of nowhere. Coughing fits that make me pee in my pants and pull muscles, and they last for LONG periods… 20 minutes and up. Miserable.

May 6 — We saw Alice’s ENT doctor at a party.

Since then, she has had TWO ear infections that have caused pus-filled drainage to drip down the sides of her head and cause her hair to cake to her ears. Her second set of tubes, inserted in December, are still in place. We did a course of oral antibiotics for the first infection, and finished that this past week. And Sunday we started seeing the other ear start draining pus all over the place. It’s nasty. And this one really seems to HURT, where the one last week was more of an inconvenience. But if we touch Alice’s left ear she gets really upset and holds it and cries.

We have an appointment with the ENT tomorrow afternoon to see if she needs larger tubes, or if there’s possibly something else going on that would be causing this.

Meanwhile, I was diagnosed with “some sort of respiratory infection” on May 10, and did oral antibiotics and prescription cough suppressants and codeine to get through it. I’m finally coming out of it, though I have coughing fits in the evenings most nights. I’m able to sleep without medicinal help now, though. Thank God.

Jerry has now started the gutbusting coughing that I’ve had for the past 2+ weeks, bettering my version by adding a fever and lethargy to the mix.

RaRa suggested that we all move out of the house for a few days and set off a Lysol Bomb.