Tasha's *3rd Time's the Charm* Journal (Comments always welcome!)

[Tasha+Scott]

Hi, everyone! Well, I have debated about whether I even wanted to start another journal. This is my 3rd one in the past 2 years. The first one I was doing WWs online and doing pretty well but dh and I decided to start trying for a baby and we were shocked when I found out I was preg. right away! It happened much faster than we had anticipated. We were thrilled of course but we had expected it take more than 1 try. So I tried to keep up in my journal and stay on track. That's easier said than done when you're pregnant though! So attempt 1 was officially over.

After our dd was born, I tried once again and created my 2nd WISH journal. However, I just didn't seem to have the motivation and that attemp quickly fell to the wayside as well.

SO here I am, attempting this yet again. The difference is this time I am not only motivated but I have actually already begun making changes. I waited to start this journal AFTER I was back on track and not before. I have only been on track a couple of weeks but I feel great and am doing great!

I have completely given up junk food which is a huge thing for me. I am watching portion sizes and as of late last week I have been exercising every night. I have also lost 5 lbs since the end of June! I feel ready and committed to try this again.

So, hi! My name is Tasha. I am 25. I have been married to a wonderful man for 6.5 years. Together we have a beautiful little angel named Kylie Noel who is 14 months old. She is the world to us so you will no doubt hear more about her and often!

We were fortunate enough to celebrate Kylie's 1st b-day at WDW and it was awesome! We are hoping to go to St. Augustine next May, about a week after she turns 2. We are thinking we might start trying for another baby next summer and aim for a 2008 baby and a 3 year age gap between Kylie and a sibling. These are all reasons I am determined to lose weight this time. I do not want to go into another preg. this out of shape and overweight. I also want to look much better in a bathing suit by the time we head to St. Augustine. ;) I have plenty of time to achieve this goal and hope to do so. I am taking it one day at a time. I have no set goal weight right now. I looked really good at 145 lbs (and was told by quite a few people not to lose any more weight) but I didn't look too shabby at 180 either (just my build) so I will see how I feel when I get to that point.

I am not on any specific diet or anything. Just watching what I eat and cutting out junk (except for an occasional treat on holidays and things like that). I have found I do better not doing an actual diet as long as I exercise. I keep the weight off much longer that way. I may decide to join a program in the future but do not plan to right now.

So there you have it. I do not know if I will post everyday but I will post as often as I can. I will try to read others' journals but again I don't know if I can do so everyday but I will do so as often as I can!

I have been known to be longwinded and I know this post is long but forgive me as I am simply trying to do a proper introduction. I will probably not have posts quite this long in the future! Not making promises but I will try my best! :teeth:

Oh, and comments definitely help keep me motivated so by all means, post away!!! :)

[Minniespal]

:wave: Tasha ~ Welcome back to Wish. I'm sure you will do really well this time.

Kylie looks so cute.

[toystoryduo]

Welcome Back Tasha! :Pinkbounc

I'm working on my second journal so I know what you mean! ;) That is great that you have given up junk food and lost 5 pounds! Sounds like a great start to me! :thumbsup2

I started reading your trip report and I love it! :goodvibes You are a very good writer, Tasha! ::yes::

Have a wonderful week! :sunny:

~Tracy

P.S. I can't believe how much Kylie has grown! She is such a cutie, Tasha! princess:

[joelyfaithsmommy]

Hi Tasha...I remember you from when I posted last year...this is my second journal...so I understand....I hope I can be of support to you on your journey!!! Best WISHES for today....and a great weight loss week!

Jen :) :fish:

[keenercam]

Congratulations, Tasha, on all the great changes you have already made! So glad to see you back here and posting.

I'm really happy you've joined us on the "Another 100 days cheat-free challenge." I can use all the support I can get.

Keep up the great work. I hope you'll post often, just so we can see that adorable picture of Kylie as frequently as possible! :hug:

[monymony3471]

Good luck Tasha. I'll be right along with you.

[Tasha+Scott]

Hey, everyone! Good to see you all again! Thanks for the encouragement! I can use all I can get. I will try my best to read all of your journals tonight. I have been suffering from insomnia a lot lately. I tossed and turned until 5 a.m. last night. I finally fell asleep but woke up again at 8 a.m. Then Kylie got up at 9. I did take an hour and a half nap when Kylie took hers though. I go through spells with the insomnia. I have always been a night owl and it is really hard to try to go to bed early and the less sleep I get the harder it is for me to finally get a good night's sleep. I can't get on the computer until Kylie goes to bed either. She has a fit if I do. For some reason she thinks she is the center of the universe. Hmmm, I wonder who put that idea in her head?! ;) I took a couple of Tylenol PMs a min. ago so hopefully they will kick in soon and help me out! I really do need some sleep!

But anyway...other than that I am having a great day! I am once again cheat-free. It is wonderful to finally have control over my food. It is a shame that I let it have control over me for so long. I also did 35 min. on the treadmill and about 5 min. of sit-ups. I feel great! A pair of jeans that was getting too tight fit this morning! I can really tell I am losing in my stomach (which is my biggest trouble area right now) although I have a long ways to go. I don't know if others can tell yet but I can and it feels so good!

I am having a great week and I hope it stays this way! Okay, well, I have a couple things I need to do and then I will head to read journals! Have a great night!

[Tasha+Scott]

Well, I did manage to get 6 hours of sleep last night! I could have used more but that is the most I have gotten in a while so it was still a good thing! I am hoping I will get some sleep tonight too.

Another successful day here. I made my first cheat-free milestone. I am at 10/100 cheat-free days on the challenge. I also managed to walk on the treadmill and do situps and stretches for about 35 min. I always feel so good after exercising! I don't know why I ever stop! Well, I need to catch up on some email, take a shower, and *hopefully* get some sleep! Night!

[toystoryduo]

Way to go Tasha! 10/100 days cheat free is wonderful! Keep up the good work! :cheer2:

I know what you mean about the insomnia thing... I go through that a couple of times a year for about a week. I hope that you get lots of rest soon! :goodvibes

Have a great day! :sunny:

[keenercam]

Hey, Tasha! Good job on the first 10 cheat-free days! THey are really the hardest. Now you have it down pat.

I loved your trip report.

Hope you are having a great day! :goodvibes:

[SunFloridaDisney]

Hi Tasha!

Welcome back, and I know you can do this. Good luck and keep coming here for encouragement!!

(Your daughter is a cutie!) :sunny:

[Tasha+Scott]

Thanks for the continued encouragement everyone! I am still doing great. Today marks 1 week of exercising every single day. I am actually starting to feel addicted to it which is a good thing. I am also still cheat-free. I can't believe I finally have stopped feeling addicted and controlled by chocolate! I decided to wear a shirt to bed tonight that was getting way too tight and it is now "roomy". It fits great, will probably be loose by next week if I keep this up! I am so happy about this. I just hope I don't lose this motivation. I have a lot to motivate me so I don't plan to lose that focus if I can help it.

Anyway, I haven't been sleeping at all hardly since I last wrote. Way too much going on and way too much on my mind. I really want to go back to school and major in a program I was accepted into a few years ago (but I turned it down back then...long story!) but I missed the deadline to apply. The deadline was April 1. Well, I had been debating about whether I wanted to try to get into the program next fall of 2007. I emailed the 2 instructors over the program simply telling them I had applied a few years ago, been accepted but declined the invitation at the time. I explained why and told her I was interested in reapplying in 2007 and asked her to mail me an application. Well, she said sure and I received it a couple of days ago.

Well, last night I was checking my email and I had one from her that simply said, "Can you please call me and leave me a number where I can contact you. I need to speak with you." This was at 11 p.m. so of course I wondered what that could be about. I knew I wouldn't sleep last night and I didn't. I finally fell asleep at 6 a.m. and Kylie woke me up at 8:30 a.m. I left the instructor a voicemail with my number last night and she called me today. I suspected I knew what it was about and I was right. Despite the fact that I didn't even apply this year they remembered my name from several years ago. I have taken all of my prerequisites and academic courses and only lack my major courses. I also have all A's and have taken a lot of other classes that weren't required but could help me anyway. I also made A's in those. My GPA is nearly perfect and I had a high ACT score in high school and graduated at the top of my class. In college I was elected as the secretary of publications for an honor society. I made "Who's Who" and was asked to be the editor of the school newspaper (although I declined that since I had so much on my plate and I was married and working then too.) I am not trying to brag, just telling you why this woman remembers me so well. My transcripts look really good. So anyway, to make a long story even longer ;) she asked me if I would be interested in entering the program this fall even though I had missed deadline! They told me that I was their prime candidate when I applied last time and they were disappointed when I turned them down but they were excited to have me in the class this year. I swear, I felt like a celebrity the way she was talking, lol!

OMG! I was so excited and thrilled. However, I have issues with the financial aid dept. They told me last year that since I have taken so many classes that I can't get any financial aid, student loans, or scholarships at their school anymore. WTH?! They did say I could appeal this if I wanted. I was told by a friend that I could probably get my financial aid reinstated if I did appeal it so that is the plan. I told the instructor the dilemma and she said she would help me work something out with financial aid so I think it will work out.

My other dilemma is Kylie. I have to find someone to keep her. I start school on Aug. 15 so that doesn't leave much time. I also don't have the money for daycare since we are on 1 income right now. The instructor said they might be able to help with that too but I seriously have a hard time seeing how they could do that. I am going to apply for state childcare assistance for while I am in school but I worry that the process will take too long since I only have a month to do it before I will have to have someone to watch Kylie. BUT Scott's grandmother had offered to keep Kylie at one time if I ever decided to go back to school. I really hate the idea of her keeping her for personal reasons but if worse comes to worst at least I have that option (I hope!). So I am sure it will all work out.

I can't believe I only have a month though to get everything straightened out and to register and everything else. I am trying not to panic b/c I know it will all work out but I just feel like there isn't enough time to do everything. I know it will work out though. Oh, and I am going into Health Information Management in case you're wondering. I am only doing the 2 year degree right now but that is a high demand field right now and I can always go back and get my bachelor's later. I am very excited!

So there will be no more kids for a while which is okay with us. This will ensure that our kids are well provided for financially in the long run which is important. We will worry about having another child after I finish my degree and start my career. There's no rush. If I get financial aid then we will still be going to St. Augustine next Spring (before I start my summer class) but we'll see how that goes first. I am so excited and nervous! Wish me luck! I can't believe that I just found out today that I will be going back to school in 1 month! Please pray that all works out with the financial aid and childcare! Sorry this is so long. I just needed to get it all out!

I don't think I will really sleep tonight but I am going to try so I will try to get to journals tomorrow. Night!

[keenercam]

Tasha --
Congratulations on being such an impressive person that the instructor remembered you! That is quite a wonderful thing!
I will keep you in my prayers and send pixiedust: and :goodvibes: that everything works out with financial aid and child care so that you can focus on your education and not worry about those things so much.
Your plan to postpone having another child sounds very well-reasoned and I personally don't feel like there is anything wrong at all with kids being a little more spaced in age. Mine are 5 years apart and it is just the absolute best situation for our family.

Have a great day! :teeth:

[SunFloridaDisney]

Wow, congratulations on getting back to school!! It is a lot to get ready in a short time, but sounds like you're making some good plans. Best of luck to you!! :goodvibes

[toystoryduo]

Congratulations Tasha! :Pinkbounc

That is wonderful news!!!!! :cheer2: I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers during this time of transition and busyness. I hope that everything works out for you! :goodvibes

Have a great weekend! :cloud9:

[kimwim8]

Hi Tasha and welcome back to WISH! I know I've seen you around the boards before and I can't believe how big your daughter is getting! It happens so quickly, doesn't it?

Congrats on your new healthy lifestyle. It sounds like you're doing SO great and you're completely on track!

Keep up the great work, and good luck with school. I'd love to go back and finish my bachelors, but the time just isn't right yet.

Take care!

[Tasha+Scott]

Thanks everyone! I am feeling very frustrated and overwhelmed at the moment. Let's just say so far the childcare situation isn't going so great. There are 2 childcare assistance programs. We aren't eligible for 1 because we make too much money. I feel so broke but the lady I talked to said we had to make $368 or less per MONTH in order to qualify. That is the poverty level. Thank God we make considerably more than that. I don't know how anyone could live on that a month! The 2nd program? Well, I talked to a woman that was pretty unhelpful. She basically said that since I am not working I would be considered last for any kind of assistance. I would be going to school all day and wouldn't have anyone to keep Kylie in the evenings or on the weekends (Scott's schedule can get kind of whacky) so I can't work. I asked her if there was an income cutoff and she said not necessarily. Okay, that doesn't help me much at all! She was pretty rude in general but she is sending me an application. I seriously don't feel optimistic about getting it though. We could actually afford daycare this winter b/c Scott makes more money in the colder months but right now there is just no possible way. His grandmother may be our last resort and I really hate the idea of even asking her. I'll let you know what happens with that though.

My FAFSA has been processed and sent to the school I am going to. I fully expect to get a letter saying I am not eligible for financial aid because I have taken too many hours but that I can appeal the decision. Based on my report I am completely eligible for financial aid based on our income. It just depends if the appeal goes well. I am feeling anxious about that too but I think I will have better luck with that than the childcare situation since my program's professors said they would try to help me. If that doesn't work out then school may not be happening this year.

I know this will probably all work out but I am just feeling so anxious about the whole thing. There is such a short amount of time to do everything and I am starting to feel like there are too many obstacles. I am trying to be optimistic though. I will be heading to the school Monday and hopefully will get to meet with my future instructors then so hopefully things will seem better after the meeting. Please keep my situation in your thoughts and prayers! Thanks!

[Tasha+Scott]

I am feeling a lot better about the childcare situation now. I am going to check out a daycare center on Monday which is literally right next door to the elementary school Kylie will be attending in a few years. It looks nice on the outside and I really liked the director when I spoke to her on the phone. She told me to come on up there on Monday and she would give me a tour and introduce me to the teachers. She also said she understood what I am going through with the whole financial aspect of daycare and trying to go back to school. She said she's been there, done that, and has 3 kids so she will try to work with me. I am going to the college to meet with the professors (hopefully) and see if they have any news for me first. Then I am going there and I am praying that I like this daycare because the location is just perfect! Wish me luck on that. I am going to see what she might be able to do to help me out. I told Scott if worse comes to worst I will see if she will let me work part-time a couple days a week to pay for Kylie's childcare. I really don't want to do that though. It will be a last resort.

Fortunately, Scott should be receiving some money (from when his old company was bought out last year. It turns out they owe him some money!) in 4-6 weeks. It will pay for between 3-4 months of daycare! So it looks like it will probably all work out. Now I hope that things just hurry up and get taken care of in the financial aid for school dept.! I can't believe I am supposed to start school 1 month from today! I haven't even registered for classes yet. I am hoping they will have me do that next week, preferably Monday when I go up there. So thanks to all of you who have been thinking good thoughts or praying for me. I think it will all work out but if not, then I *know* it will work next year. I sure would like to go this year though!

On to more good news. Dh and I left Kylie with his mom today while we went and grabbed a bite at the mall and went to see POTC 2. I weighed myself and I am down 2 lbs since last Sunday! :) I am so happy to finally feel like I am getting somewhere. I thought it would be more though truthfully. I have been a working out machine for 8 days and counting. I also haven't cheated at all. Dh had some M&Ms at the movies and offered me some! I just gave him a look and he realized what he said and said, "OH, YEAH! Oops! I forgot!" I told him I have given up chocolate except for occasionally on special occasions. He's been really good about not tempting me till now. The good news is I didn't feel tempted anyway. Besides, I don't even like M&Ms, lol! I haven't done my workout for today yet but I always do that after Kylie goes to bed so I will be doing that soon! Night!

[keenercam]

Hi, Tasha! I have been checking to see if you have updated your journal. I was wondering how things went at school yesterday and visiting the day care center. I have been sending you positive vibes and pixiedust. :goodvibes: pixiedust: Are ya feelin' it? :teeth:

Be sure to check in and let us know how everything is going. Don't let the obstacles get you down, kiddo. Anything worth having is worth fighting for. :thumbsup2

[Tasha+Scott]

Hi everyone! Please do me a favor and please pray for my dh! My dh's parents took him to the ER about an hour and a half ago. He was having severe abdominal and back pain. He was in so much pain that he was actually starting to cry which is not at all like my dh! It had both Kylie and me pretty scared. Kylie kept looking at me and going, "Dada?" I kept trying to reassure her he was okay but I was pretty shook up seeing him cry myself!

Someone told him it sounded like kidney stones but of course to me it sounds like it could be any number of things...apendicitis, pulled muscle, etc. I am very worried about him! I wish I were with him. He and I decided it would be best if I stay here and put Kylie to bed instead of taking her to an ER where we would probably be for quite a while. He is supposed to call as soon as he has news. Please pray it is nothing serious. I will update when I know anything. TIA!

P.S. A lot has happened with the daycare/school situation but right now it just doesn't seem important while I am so worried about Scott! I will update about that when I know my dh is okay!

[toystoryduo]

Tasha honey.... Prayers are being said for Scott right now. I'm also praying for you and Kylie as well. :grouphug: God is watching over you all.

[Tasha+Scott]

Thanks, Tracy! I just heard from Scott. He is on his way home. It turns out he has a hernia and is going to need surgery! He sounded like he was feeling okay and I asked if he was on painkillers or something. They gave him an IV with some type of pain medication so he isn't feeling bad right now but he will be by tonight, I'm sure! He has to make an appt. for surgery tomorrow. They said he will need about a week for recovery. It is times like these that it is good he is on salary and has vacation days left! So at least that is one less stress for us! Thanks for praying! I hate that he needs surgery but at least he will be okay!

[toystoryduo]

Thanks, Tracy! I just heard from Scott. He is on his way home. It turns out he has a hernia and is going to need surgery! He sounded like he was feeling okay and I asked if he was on painkillers or something. They gave him an IV with some type of pain medication so he isn't feeling bad right now but he will be by tonight, I'm sure! He has to make an appt. for surgery tomorrow. They said he will need about a week for recovery. It is times like these that it is good he is on salary and has vacation days left! So at least that is one less stress for us! Thanks for praying! I hate that he needs surgery but at least he will be okay!

:grouphug: Tasha,

We will keep Scott, you, and Kylie in our prayers. :grouphug:

[keenercam]

Tasha -- I am glad you all have the peace of mind of knowing what the problem is and that it can be resolved quickly. I hope you both can get some rest today and that the doctors can schedule Scott's surgery quickly.

[eeyore25]

Hi Tasha,

Welcome back.....glad to have you here again!!! You can do it this time...I know you can!!! You are doing a great job already!!!!

Congrats on losing the 5 pounds!!!!

Keep up the great work!!!!

Have a wonderful evening :)

[Tasha+Scott]

Well, Scott has an appt. on Thurs. to basically just check him out and decide what exactly they are going to be doing. The secretary said the dr. is only there on Thurs. and Fri. so hopefully he will be able to get the surgery done next Fri. but if not it may be the following week! They did give him a prescription for painkillers last night so he is doing well as long as he is on those. They make him really drowsy though. He went to work today and is planning to go until the surgery. He is basically just answering phones which he finds completely boring and he said he kept dozing off. The ER doc told him he would probably need a week off for recovery but that he would have to "take it easy and not lift anything heavy" for closer to 6 weeks. So dh will most likely be answering phones for a while which will drive him nuts but at least he won't risk further injury! He is trying to get workman's comp. but his boss was on vacation this week and told him he would see what he could do on Monday. I hope they don't turn it into something difficult since there is no doubt it happened on the job! Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a hassle though?

As far as how things are going with school and the daycare, I met with my instructor on Monday and was able to register for classes. I also checked out a daycare near the elementary school that Kylie will be attending when she turns 5. I loved the location and I really liked the daycare. It is smaller and not overrun with kids. The kids all seem very happy and well-cared for. I was able to take a tour and I was happy with it. The best part is my first semester I will only have 3 classes I have to attend on campus so I will only be going on Tues. and Thurs. So I was able to talk the director into letting me pay for part-time daycare (which is extremely hard to find in our area!) so I will only be paying $35 a week until January! How great is that!?! What an answer to a huge prayer! Starting in January Kylie will be going full-time though as I will have more courses and also have clinicals but we will be able to afford it by then.

I am also taking 2 online classes this semester but I don't actually need them. They are basically just so I can meet my hours to be a full-time student. I have already taken all of my academic and prerequisite courses and only lack my major courses so these online classes are basically just going to be filler courses this semester.

I received a rejection letter for financial aid the other day. No surprise or upset as I knew it was coming. It basically said to write a letter of appeal and that if I was accepted into a health program (which I was) that I should send my acceptance letter from the program as well. It also said that if I was accepted into one of the health programs that they would reevaluate their decision and only count hours that would go toward my major. If they do that then I should definitely have my financial aid reinstated since I wouldn't have taken too many hours then! I am feeling very optimistic about it now!

I did have to call my instructor and have her get me an "official" acceptance letter. Due to the circumstances on how I was accepted into the program I didn't actually receive a letter. I went and picked it up Thurs. and mailed it, along with my letter of appeal, Friday morning. I am hoping I will know something for certain by the end of next week and that it will be good news. Otherwise, I guess I will have to do a 2nd appeal and meet with a committee. I think I will have good luck though...at least I hope so! Keep your fingers crossed, pray, send good thoughts, whatever you feel like doing! I really, really want to be able to finish school and without financial aid it won't be happening this year!

We took Kylie to the daycare on Wed. to turn in her paperwork and shot records form. We brought dh with us to make sure he also approved of the daycare. He did. I did not realize how small Kylie was until then. She is the smallest kid they have there in her age group. She is on the thin side but I guess she is also one of the shorter ones too! She was above average in height at her yearly check up so either she hasn't grown much since or there is something in the daycare's water! These kids looked like giants compared to her! She is the youngest one that was there that day though but only by 2 months!

All of the kids were so "talkative" and sweet and they kept hugging Kylie and bringing her toys. Kylie was loving it! She's such a little socialite, doncha know?! Dh and I could have walked out and I don't think she would have noticed nor would she have cared! That makes me feel a little better about taking her in August...although I will probably still feel a little guilty the first day and end up taking her out for icecream afterward or something!

Anyway, things seem to be going well so far and now we are just playing the waiting game with financial aid. They are generally extremely quick at letting me know something so hopefully this will be no different. I will update when I know more.

Other good news is that Scott is supposed to be getting a really good raise in Sept. We don't know exactly how much but they are promising a pretty huge one. When the company was bought out last Oct. it was discovered that Scott's company is the lowest paid one this new company currently has and they are planning to improve that so wish us luck that it is a substantial increase as we could really use it!

On the WISH front, I am now on day 20 on the cheat-free challenge. It would have been so easy to eat about a lb of chocolate last night while I was worrying about Scott but thankfully there is nothing unhealthy in the house so I didn't sabotage my current eating success and I feel good about that! I didn't exercise last night as I was so worried and about the time I was going to Scott called saying he was on his way home so I decided to skip a night. And tonight my back felt sore (probably from carrying Kylie) so I skipped tonight too. Out of the past 15 days I have worked out 12 days though so I am doing well on the exercise front! I just hope I can keep it up. And Kylie is always running and getting into something so I do get plenty of exercise chasing her all day, lol! The girl is fast! According to my scale I have lost some weight but our scale is awful so I will not officially weigh until I can get to a better scale next week.

Have a great Saturday everyone! I will try to get to journals when things calm down some here!

[toystoryduo]

Wow Tasha,

You do have a lot going on right now. I am glad to hear that you have found a daycare for Kylie. :goodvibes I will pray for Scott and for your financial aid.
Take good care of you! :grouphug:

[Tasha+Scott]

Well, just a quick post to let all of you know that my appeal for financial aid was APPROVED!!! :) So that means everything is set and I will be going back to school starting Aug. 15! Thanks for all the prayers about it!

Another good thing that happened today is that Scott was told he will be receiving Workman's Comp.! So that's another huge burden lifted off of us! God is GREAT! Scott's dr.'s appt. is tomorrow and we should know more and get a surgery date then. I will update when I know more.

I am planning to weigh tomorrow but TOM is here so I hope that doesn't throw things off too much. I know that I have lost since I last weighed but I'm just not sure how much. Scott told me last night he could tell I had lost some in my stomach and in my butt. I knew I had in my stomach but had no idea about my butt, lol!

[Minniespal]

Excellent news Tasha :)

Good luck with the weigh-in ~ I'm sure you have lost :thumbsup2

[keenercam]

Good luck with the WI today, Tasha! And good luck to Scott at his doctor's appt! :thumbsup2

Congrats on the financial aid appeal. That is so awesome! DH is interviewing today with the admissions department for his MBA application. I know how stressful the whole process can be, so kudos to you, sweetie, for keeping your head about you through all of this and landing on your feet. :woohoo: You were faced with a huge challenge of dealing with the financial aid and child care issues and here you are! :teeth: :cheer2:

Have a wonderful day, Tasha!

[Tasha+Scott]

We spent a lovely 3 hours at the dr.'s office this afternoon. Kylie was a wild child. I was chasing her everywhere. She kept running as fast as she could trying to get away and squealing in delight. She thought it was so much fun of course! At least people thought she was cute and didn't seem to mind! Ah, the joys of having a toddler!

When the dr. looked at Scott's hernia he said it was a pretty big one and will definitely require surgery. He is having it done Monday but we don't know what time yet. He has to go for pre-op tomorrow sometime and they will go into more details about what they are going to do, pain meds, etc., as well as do routine blood tests, etc. He is taking off from work for 2 weeks and then he will be doing nothing more than answering phones for probably a month after he returns. It is nice to know they can get to it as soon as Monday though as it has been painful for Scott, though he has still been doing pretty well as long as he takes his pain meds.

I also weighed this evening. I am down 4 lbs!! :) Of course now I would love it if TOM set me back some so that it will seem like I have lost even more next time, lol! I seem to be losing at a rate of about 2 lbs per week (this was the 1st I had weighed in nearly 2 weeks) and I think that is probably a pretty healthy rate. Since starting back on WISH I have lost 6 lbs. And I had lost about 5 lbs before that so I am doing pretty well. I just hope I keep doing this well after I start back to school. I was actually about 144 lbs (my smallest ever!) when I started school last time but between going to school full-time and working full-time I ate a lot of vending machine snacks and fast food and the weight just sort of piled on me. It didn't happen overnight of course but it seemed like it did because I remember looking in the mirror one day and realizing my face was pudgy! I was taken aback! I will only be going to school 2 days a week this semester and I won't be working so hopefully that will cut down on the unhealthy eating. Wish me luck!

[Tasha+Scott]

I can't believe how long it's already been since I last posted in this journal! I have finally decided to accept that it is just too hard for me to keep up with journals anymore. I can't even keep up with my own and I feel guilty when I don't read others' journals too. So this will probably be my last post in this journal.

I mainly just want to update you all in case any of you are wondering what has happened to me. Scott had his surgery on July 31. He was off for 3 weeks and now is on light duty at work. He had 1 week of vacation time left though so he is taking off next week. He's doing great! He hasn't been able to pick Kylie up though in nearly 6 weeks and that has been the hardest part for him. She only weighs 20 lbs but he can't lift over 15 according to the dr. He is allowed to lift her again on Sept. 11 and he is counting down the days!

I started back to school on Aug. 15. I really like it so far and I am doing well. It is pretty time-consuming though. I have just as much out-of-class work (maybe more!) as I do the actual in-class assignments. Kylie started daycare that day as well and so far she seems to love it so that was a huge burden lifted off of me! She already seems to have a little boyfriend according to the daycare owner. He is the daycare owner's son and is only 2 months older than Kylie. Apparently they hit it off right away. Scott wasn't amused. ;) Speaking of Kylie, she will be 16 months on Tues. She is such a big girl now. We took the pacifier away a month ago and it was actually really easy. I can't believe how fast she's growing up!

We are probably going to be going back to WDW a couple days after my exams are over in May. I can't wait!

Well, I guess that about covers it. Sorry that I am such a bad journal poster. BUT, on the plus side, I am down about 10 lbs since I started this journal. It may be more actually but I haven't weighed in a while. I also am doing well with the exercise and eating for the most part so that is something else I am proud of these days. It has taken me forever but it seems I may finally be back on track and I feel so much better than I have in several years! Well, take care and I'll see you guys around the exercise challenge threads and other various threads! :)

[toystoryduo]

Hi Tasha,

Thanks for the updates on Scott, school, and Kylie! :goodvibes I was wondering how you all have been doing. I'm glad to hear that things are going well. :goodvibes

Have a great weekend! :sunny:

[Princess Michelle]

Hi Tasha! It's so good to see you. I know you said you probably won't post to this journal anymore but I wish that you would when you have time. I am about to start a new one myself and I will have to apologize from the start that I won't be able to post to all the other journals as much as I would love to. I think that was a big thing for me before as it got very overwhelming and time consuming. Right now I have to focus on my journal and when I have extra time then I can post on others. I can't let myself feel bad about that and you should not either. You seem to be doing great. I can't believe how big Kylie is! It really seems like just yesterday you sent me a PM to let me know she was born. She is SO adorable! Are you still planning on going to St. Augustine next year? Have you ever been before? Brian and I went last August and it was so much fun. Such a beautiful and historic city. I hope everything is going well for you. I'll talk to you later! :sunny: