More joys of motherhood

Why are teenagers so difficult? I mean, when I was a teenager, I wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, you know, cuz I knew everything, duh, HA!

How do I get through to them? How do I get them to see that I can actually help make their lives easier? I wish at their age that I had a mom like me, which could somehow relate or give me advice that worked.

Lord knows that if I had the knowledge I acquired at the School of Hard Knocks then, my life now would be totally different now. I tell them all the time that the decisions that they are making now, in years 0 - 18 are nothing in comparison to their whole lives, but you know, I dont know nothin'...riiight

Yes, I know I am the mean mom that refuses to sit back and watch them get bad grades, have bad friends and put themselves in dangerous situations. I know the horror?!

Last night I prayed that God would somehow populate my brain with the knowledge that I need to get though to them…..Are you there God? Its me Mrs. Every Woman…i'm gonna need you to help me out on this one

How many "count to ten's?

How many?

How many I'm sorry's, I forgives you's, clean slates, chances and passes can you give out before you lose your damn mind?

Does anyone out there have an instruction manual for teenagers?

I just hope on day before I am gone, they will realize that I am really not as bad as they make me out to be in there little teenage mind.

Thanksgiving was awesome!

Wow, we had sucha great time. All of the food turned out great...nice vibe in the house. I seriously couldnt have asked for a better Thanksgiving. Actually, this is the best Thanksgiving in Miami thus far. Now, with that being said, boy oh boy and I sick of left-overs already.

19 Days til my surgery (tapping my fingers on the table)...I have my pre-op appt this week, then my appt with the doctor for my medical clearance. Wow, its almost here. Everyone kepps asking me if i'm nervous....not at all, not yet anyway.

It was nive having my hubby around for a whole 4 days during the holiday, I almost forgot what it felt like to have someone around that has the same amount of responsibilty for Kai as I do, I needed a break big time! I love watching Kai & Al interact, so beautiful....I only with my girls could have had the same thing.

here are some pics

"It's not my fault"

Wow, how crazy does that phrase make me? Seriously, why is it now that people seem to think that and answer containing that phrase has the ability to erase all liability. What ever happened to good ol' fashioned owning up and taking responsibility for your actions? I guess thats soo yesterday huh?

Hypothetical scenario #1:

You have a "F" in class....excuse me hypothetical person, why do you have an "F" in class, (they express a serious, yet pathetic face), "its not my fault"...what!? Seriously, that’s not your final answer right? Doncha wanna call a friend or something? You know what an "F" means to me, you went to class, didn’t do any class work or homework.....what is the correct answer? I have an F because I slacked off. Will this response make me happy? No..but it will make me respect you more.

Being a mother, my job is to get my children ready for the "real" world, its brutal out there. Your boss will not except "its not my fault" as an answer, your landlord will not be willing to give you an extension on your rent, and the police will not take "I didn’t mean to" as a valid response. If I allow my children to think that phrases are acceptable is doing them a disservice.....they might think I am being a jerk, but I hope that one day, one day while I am still around, they will appreciate it.

Yet another customer service rant

Dictionary.com defines Customer Service as:

Definition: assistance and other resources that a company provides to the people who buy or use its products or services

Maybe I should mention this to those jerk-off's that act like they are doing you a favor?

The clock is ticking

and boy am I excited......... the "new me", really really wants to look like the "new me". I have to admit, I am a bit nervous too, after all, it is major surgery. One month and one day away (sigh)

Kai is talking away a storm, he repeats everything and its just soo cute, he is such a sweet baby, sometimes ;)okay all the time

Thanksgiving is almost here and I soo cant wait, it by far my fav holiday, here's what’s on the menu this year:

Turkey (Duh)
Cranberry Sauce (Homemade)
Cornbread
Colombian Stuffing (Stuffing, Ground beef, walnuts, raisins, green peppers, onions & garlic)
Baked Mac & Cheese
Creamed Spinach
Mashed Potato
Candied Yams
Coconut Rice (Arroz con Coco - Colombian)

Cheesecake
Flan
Pumpkin Pie

Hungry yet? Wish you were invited huh? Cant say that I blame you :)

With all honesty, I miss the Holidays in NY, not only because of the weather, but because I feel like there was soo much love there with my husband’s family...sadly I feel more at home with his family then with mine.

Your family doesn’t necessarily need to be blood related, family is about love, a sense of security and togetherness.

Hi, its me again

Your local Mrs. Everywoman, just checking in...

The mood in my office is awkward after yesterday’s lay-offs, hope they are done :( This really puts me in an uncomfortable position, to start circulating my resume or not, that is the question.

My hubby is coming to visit this weekend, I will be soo happy when this training is finally over.

Where have I been, and why did I leave you

Well...to be honest, there isn’t just one answer. I guess I have been a bit overwhelmed with my temporary re-assignment with single motherhood. My defense mechanism usually kicks in when things are too hard to deal with, I have this amazing ability to just push to the back of my brain....and just think forward.

Oh God, can I just please have my husband back already, I mean I know it would be hard, but damn damn damn. I am tiered, I need a break

and then I find out that TEN of my co-workers were laid-off today..WTF! My thoughts are with those poor people, with the current condition of the economy...sheesh, that just plain sucks

Well on the brighter side...I am soo happy that Obama won the election, what a beautiful day in american history

I am T-I-E-R-E-D

This temporary single mom crap is for the birds!

Nuff said?

Sorry I have neglected you

Alot has happened since we last met, where do I start? Oh well, I am a single mom now, well kinda, for the next three months while my hubby is off training. Him leaving was really hard, I did most of my crying while him & Kai were asleep, it’s only been two days and I already miss him, even though he still manages to have tasks for me to complete all the way from Georgia, I jokingly call him the human checklist….I guess its all part of his charm.

So far so good, the girls are allot of help, well mostly Sofia, don’t know what I would do without her, the twins are usually doing their own thing and I understand. How on earth did I do it alone with 3 toddlers….well, I have no answer for that one, I guess I just did it, because there was no other way.

Kai is walking now….almost full time. The other day when I picked him up at daycare he walked up to me with his hands up, wow, that totally made my day! He’s getting big so fast…where has time gone?

And…..drum roll please, I have achieved my weight loss goal and have lost a total of …one more drum role please…..59 pounds! I can say, without one doubt in my mind, that I couldn’t have done it without Weight Watchers. It is hands down, the best diet program out there.

That’s all for now folks…..stay tuned

When it hurts too much to talk about….what does one do?

Being on my own for so many years, with no family besides my girls, and no one to talk to about the things that hurt or worried me, I developed a defense mechanism. Somewhere along the line, I just stopped talking about the things that hurt me the most; instead I just absorbed then, and filed them someplace in the back of my brain. No time to sit and cry, no ones shoulder to lean on, just me & my girls, so I would just dust myself on and keep moving. The question is, is this healthy? I literally have to be bursting at the seams before verbalizing it, and still, its only maybe.

Maybe I learned this behavior from my grandmother, the strongest woman I have ever met and my role model. I mean really, she went though hell, from an abusive childhood, to marrying into one of the richest families in her city, to losing all their money and being reduced to selling all her furniture, to working in a factory when she used to have maids, to having a mentally ill daughter, to caring for her husband that died of cancer, and still, only shed one single tear at his burial, because she had to be strong…..strong for everyone.

Maybe it’s the mother in me that has to be strong for everyone, protect them? Or maybe it’s the stories my mother would tell me about my father being such a proud man, how he would always say “It doesn’t matter if you are starving, put on your best suit and never let the world see that you are suffering”.

Whatever it is, sometimes I feel as though it has aged me, not externally, but internally, does that make any sense?

Did I really learn this behavior, or am I genetically predisposed?

Whatever is it, it sucks, sucks bad.

Ike Ike Go Away!

I hate hurricanes! I know what your thinking, well duh Sherlock, who loves them?

Ike is way to close, and you might as well paint a bull’s-eye on Miami. This morning’s weather said that forecasters are predicting that if it does hit South Florida, it will hit as a Category 4 storm! Great, so now I get to sit and worry, will it blow my house away? How long will we be without power?

Everyone in Miami is glued to the tube today, we should know what the deal is by this evening…and then, the craziness begins, up the shutters go, run to the gas station a fill up all the cars and buy gas for the generator, run to the supermarket and buy water, canned foods and batteries, bring in all the lawn furniture and tie-down everything else, scrub the house, find and put all your important papers in zip-lock bags, buy a bottle of booze to calm my damn nerves during the storm and go to the bank and withdraw money, not exactly in that order, but you catch my drift.

Why on earth did I move here, I should have stayed my butt in New York, oh I know for the beautiful weather that makes my hair frizzy and for the beaches that I have only been to about five times in just under three years. I’ll take a Blizzard over a hurricane any day, I can tan in the salon and can I please have my frizz-free hair back....... please?

Next advisory, when I have more stuff to beef about……

Who failed Kindergarten?

Why can’t anyone play nice? You know people, news flash, we are all entitled to our own opinion. I support Obama 100%, I think he is an amazing man that, when elected, can give Washington, a well-needed “make-over”. Who ever is elected to office, well, lets just say that I wouldn’t want to trade places with them……they have a serious amount of crap to clean-up, and no matter how well of a job they do, I’m pretty sure he’ll have to pick up the slack for decisions our current president made while in office.

You know what I don’t get, why the smear tactics? Why not focus on the issues at hand? Jeeze, we have enough of them, why waste time? I admire Obama’s camp for not pulling Palin’s card, pul-lease, lord knows that would have been tooo easy, like taking candy from a child…..but instead, they took the high road, and that my friend is commendable at the very least.

Although I will not be voting for McCain this election, I feel no need to bash him, actually, I happen to think he is a good opponent, and I also happen to agree with some of his views, I know, shocking!

I find that allot if people bash Obama for no apparent reason….I mean really people, its okay not to like him, its also okay not to vote for him, after all, that’s your decision…….but cant we just play nice, you should hear the things I have heard people say around the office, nonchalantly, or the chain emails I have received from co-workers……why? Could it be a fear of change? the possibility of having a president that isn’t 100% white? Kinda like Joe Lewis vs. Rocky Marciano, please tell me that in 2008 this is not the reason, because if that is the case, that’s just plain pathetic.

I've said it before and i'll say it again, If Bush did one positive thing while in office, it was to show young American Voters that their vote makes a difference. I guarantee that the turn out on Election Day will be unprecedented....and that in itself is awesome

So if you really support your canidate, stop singing it, just bring it to the polls, nuff said?!

Well that’s my $0.02

10 Foods every Weight Watchers Newbie Needs

When I first joined Weight Watchers I was completely clueless

Here is a list of ten foods that I think every WW newbie needs.

Thomas Light English Muffins - 1 Point
Wonder Light or Natures Own Light Bread - 2 Slices - 1 Point
Kraft 2% American Cheese - 1 Slice - 1 Point
Progresso Light Soup - 1/2 can - 0 Points
Fiber One Bar (chocolate) - 1 Point
Handi Snacks Fat Free Chocolate Pudding - 1 Point
Weight Watchers Cream Cheese - 1 Point
Weight Watchers Giant Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Bar - 2 Points
I Cant Believe Its Not Butter Spray - 5 Sprays - 0 Points
Veggies, Veggie and more Veggies (most are free)- 0 Points

When being a mom sucks the most

Well...being a mom to teenage girls is definitely a struggle to say the least. I am starting to come to terms with the fact that babies aren’t babies any more, but I refuse to believe that I am supposed to let go, I cant, I wont.

Being a single teenage mother, my girls and I kinda grew up together. I have learned to accept the past and move forward with my life. Sure I could sit there and have a pity party for everything that has happened in my life, poor me, poor me, but what does it solve and who does it help?

When my twins were born at 34 weeks, I went into labor at work, took the train to the hospital where I was informed that not only was I in labor, but that I was having twins. Here I am 17 years old, all by myself, with 2 babies to care for, and no ones help….what was I going to do, how would I do it? 72 hours later my beautiful baby girls entered the world. After three days of labor…I was so exhausted. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a hospital room. I walked to the nurse’s station and asked where my babies were, she told me they were in NICU and that she would call someone to take me there and that she didn’t know how long it would be. So I borrowed another hospital gown…and snuck off when the nurse wasn’t looking. I walked three buildings away, soooo very tired, but the only thing on my mind was to see my girls. When I arrived at the NICU about 2 hours later, the nurse just about had a heart attack “what are you doing here, everyone is looking for you” and starts to yell for another nurse to get me a chair. I then asked her where my girls were, she pointed at two incubators side-by-side with two tiny babies in them, and I was instantly in love. I was able to carry Angelic first and then Leila….and was in total complete awe, I remember thinking to myself, unconditional love, I promise to for you for always.

Fast forward to now, at 15 ½ years old, I think that now to my twins, I am the equivalent of the anti-Christ. Can’t they see I only have their best interests in mind, don’t they see I only want the best for them? In comparison to most moms, I think I am pretty cool, can someone please tell me, when did I become the enemy? How to I get them to see where I am coming from? Granted, the little person on their left should happens to be my mother that has some demented vendetta against me…but that another story, for another day, until then I’ll just keep on keeping on…chin up Mrs. Every Woman

Customer Service? or Self Service?

Does customer service really exist? I mean really, how many times a day could you, if you had the time, complain about the service you are receiving. Have our expectations been gradually lowered?

I had called my cable company the other day because I had an issue with my bill. The Customer Service Agent wasn’t giving me the answers I was looking for, so I thanked her for all her help and asked to speak to get supervisor, she says to me, get this, "you could speak to the president of the company and still not get what you are looking to get", really...wow, so I again thanked for her help and explained to her that I have every right to speak to a supervisor...after going back and forth with her about this, she finally transferred me....but holy crap! I eventually got exactly what I was look for, but jeeze, you would have thought I had smacked that reps momma to do so!

How about the times I have go to a store looking for something and I will get, um "that way"? Is it me, are my standards to high? Or how about when i go to Wendy's and I ask what comes in the burger and i'll get "I don’t know" final answer? Don’t you want to call a co-worker or something? WTF?!

Maybe I am not okay with the "laid-back" approach (I’m fishing for answers here people), for some reason I feel up north your held to a higher standard, but it could be just me...getting old and annoying....nah :)

Kai's 1st birthday was great!

I had a good friend of mine from Tampa her husband drove down from Tampa on Thursday (she used to be my neighbor in New York), so I took the day off from work on Friday, then Friday night my mother-in-law, sister-in-law & niece flew in from New York..crazy! I ran around like a lunatic making sure everything was "just so".

Kai's party started at 2pm on Saturday,at least thats what the invitation said, well the first guest arrived around 2:30 and the last guest left about 10:30. Kai was a little under the weather, running a low grade fever and was almsot surgically attached to my hip the whole time..poor baby. He loved his cake, watching him eat it was the cutest thing ever.

I also got to meet my oldest daughters (one of the twins) boy friend, he seems like a nice kid...with the exception of him getting to the party like 4 hours late, he seems alright.....but that statement is subject to change without any notice, maybe i'll just leave it as "Boyfreind status, under review" :)

First Official Day of School

Well today was the first official day of school, it was supposed to be Monday, but because of Tropical Storm Fay, school was cancelled Monday & Tuesday. The twins are now in the 10th Grade and my youngest daughter is now in the 8th grade. Wow, I feel soo old, who wouldn’t? The girls were up late last night getting all dolled up, while I pretended not to here them, but um, don’t they know sound travels, they were like 8 feet from my bedroom door…..oh boy

I remember the first day of school, I would have a hard time sleeping the night before, my outfit would be laid-out on a chair with the shirt, pants, belt, socks, shoes and accessories all set up exactly how I was going to wear it, kinda like a mannequin would have it on. I almost couldn’t wait to see how had their braces removed, or put on, who cut their hair, who grew taller, which boys transitioned into cuteness over the summer….etc..

Seems so long ago when that was me, now I’m a full time working wife/mom of four, crazy when you think of it huh? Brings it home when the girls at the store call me mam...mam? Who the heck is mam, not me, right?!

How to be a thrifty mommy 101

Being a mom of 3 teenagers and a toddler, I am sure there is no need to explain how important being thrifty is....I literally have to stretch every single dollar. Over the years I have found a couple of websites that have helped me do just that.

retailmenot.com

I love this website, its pretty simple, basically, before I purchase anything from any website, I check there first for coupon codes. When you go to the website just type in the web address of the online store you will be buying something from and hit search, it will pull up any available coupon codes and explanations of use, yeah just that simple.

slickdeals.net

Awesome site, I use this along with retailmenot! "The most frequently updated and complete deal site on the web! We provide you with the day's hottest deals every day. We also have over 800 coupons for all your favorite online stores. Browse around and you're bound to save more than a few bucks!" Thats pretty much on the money. I check this regularly and save on all kinds of stuff from food to clothes to school supplies.

fatwallet.com

Earn Cash Back while you shop – just 3 simple steps.

Sign Up! (It's FREE.) Shop through FatWallet for deals from your favorite stores. Your online purchases earn Cash Back that builds in your FatWallet account. Get Paid by requesting a payment via check or PayPal. Thats it!


Oh and before I go, right now there is a 30% printable in-store coupon for Foot Locker, Champs & Foot Action here is the link:

30% off Foot Locker, Champs & Foot Action

Bye Bye Fay and more good news!

Wow, that was close.....

Yesterday was full of bringing in patio furniture and securing the stuff we couldn’t bring in with bungee cords, making sure all the clothes in the whole house was washed and that everything was clean (in case the power went out), even though we are still under Tropical Storm Warning and Tornado Watch, I think its safe to say we are in the clear, I hope our friends up North have the same luck.

On to better news.....well, we were one of those suckers who bought a house at the top of the market with and ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage)...our mortgage went up almost $500...and property values took a nose dive...that left us and many Americans in BIG trouble. In our situation, we bought our house for 305k, thinking it would increase in value before our ARM matured, WRONG! I guess it became immature, because our house in now valued at under 250k, and since we were upside down in our house, we had no equity to refinance with. There was nothing we could do besides ask the bank for help.

I think my husband put it best by saying that our current financial situation was like we were under water holding three fingers above water, and that every now and then we were able to jump up and gasp for air, that about summed it up. Well after HSBC giving us the run around for SIX months, and then rejecting our request for a Temporary Interest Rate Modification, I was at my wits end.

A girlfriend of mine was in a similar situation and told me about www.loansafe.org, I posted a thread about my current situation, one of the moderators responded and suggested that I email the Big Wigs at HSBC....and wouldn’t you know that I received a letter in the mail on Saturday approving our modification, and that resulted in our mortgage being reduced by almost $800 per month. Thank You God! I seriously don’t think I took a single breath while I read that letter.

A Huge Thank you to my favorite pregnant Georgia Peach, www.loansafe.org and HSBC Bank, and for all of you people on the verge of losing your homes, there is hope (at least for another 6 months)…don’t give up!

A Tropical Storm...Great!

Or not, so Tropical Storm Kay coming our way. Guess its the price you have to pay to live in paradise...Today was supposed to be the kids first day of school, and school has been cancelled. Thankfully Kai's daycare was open, but I just got a call that they are closing at 12.

The forecasts say that it will just miss us when it turns into a Hurricane.... but I don’t know...kinda too close for comfort you know? I bought some extra water at the supermarket on Saturday, but we are by no means prepared.

To top it off Kai is sick, had a high fever Saturday night, took him to the emergency room on Sunday when he received a Penicillin Shot and is now on antibiotics for a double ear infection.

Counting to ten as I type…..

I HEART Thai Food 4 Evaaaaaa!

Yesterday I took Al out for his birthday to a small Thai restaurant. Niether of us had ever had Thai food...and OMG it was amazing! I highly reccomend that you try it.

Although I am on WW, I had planned not to count a single point (I wish my brain was on the same page, it does it all by itself).

Our Menu:

Appetizers:
Jumping Sprimp
Beef Satay (A MUST HAVE)

Entree:
Currie Duck (Al)
Deep-fried whole red snapper topped with hot green chili sauce (A MUST HAVE)

Dessert:
Thai Coffee (Expresso with Condensed Milk)- A MUST HAVE
Thai Doughnuts

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am all about saving money whenever possible. So Restaurant.com had a 80% off sale the other day, and I took advantage and bought a bunch of certificates. Normally they will sell a $25 gift Certificate for $10 (if you go through couponmom.com you always get an additional 40% off). I ended up getting a $25 Gift Certificate for $2.

Our bill came to $67, minus my gift certificate....dinner was $42 not including tip...nice huh

Rants for today

Rant #1

People can be so, are so…..okay deep breath…………….STUPID sometimes!

Okay so as you already know, I have lost 55lbs since Kai was born, but by no means was I a disaster when I was heavier, but by the dumb as comments I get sometimes, you would think I was some horrendous creature from the planet Pork-er. It usually starts like this, wow, you’ve lost soo much weight, “your husband must be sooo happy”…..and then when I respond by saying “um, he’s always been happy”, they seem confused, then they’ll add something like, well you know, since you look so good now, like a whole other person ….at this point I’m a little bothered and then I will say something like “um, I’ve always looked good, just in a slightly larger frame”…………….oh and get this, then I get the wow,” that sounds conceited look”, seriously, what do they expect me to say…..yeah, he’s sooo happy now that I am not a fat pig or yeah I was pretty disgusting back then? WTF is wrong with these people!

Rant #2

So I mentioned in my last post that I rewarded my weight loss with a mini-mommy makeover (a tummy tuck). Well, I mentioned to my sister that I fell in love with the practice, the surgeon (a female), everything…..I did my due diligence and went to other surgeons and they couldn’t even hold a candle to this practice. The level of professionalism what through the roof, pleasant staff, awesome bedside manner…. The whole nine, the obvious choice was to go with them; I called and set up my surgery date. So in my head, I’m done, nothing left except the countdown…..yeah well…SIKE!

My sister calls to schedule an appointment for a consultation for herself and requests the female surgeon, and guess what, she is informed that the surgeon had a family emergency and had to leave the COUNTRY! WTF! WTF WTF! This is AFTER I scheduled my surgery date…..come on, no one was going to tell me? Was I just going to walk into my pre-op appointment and they were going to be like SURPRISE, this is the NEW Dr that is going to cut you open?! So I am pissed at this point and call and express how upset I am about the situation, they are really apologetic and asked when I wanted to come in and meet with the other doctor. Although I know the other surgeon is awesome, world renown, and that I will end up having my surgery performed by him……but jeeze, this was supposed to be a done deal…Ugggg sooo frustrated!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO….BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

My Weightloss Journey

My mother used to be an aerobics instructor when I was a little girl, so at my house there was a content obsession with weight, seriously, I feel like I have been on a diet my whole life. It was really confusing because she would obsess over my weight then bring home doughnuts for breakfast...does that make any sense? So I guess it goes without saying that my self image was pretty bad almost from the start. This went on all through Elementary and Jr. High, looking back at those pictures, I now realize that I really wasn't "fat" at all. My mother told my sister not long ago that she would bother us about our weight all the time.....so we wouldn’t get "fat" WTF?

During my relationship with my ex he did everything and everything to destroy the little bit of self esteem I did have, he would call me fat, ugly, and tell me that no man would ever want a woman with three kids (well I proved him wrong). I mean, I didn’t get it, I would walk down the street and get plenty of attention, and have men telling me I was beautiful all the time, but when I looked in the mirror, I couldn’t see what they saw...not even close, thanks Loser, thanks mom

When I met my husband I was weighing about 180 lbs, which is a bit overweight for my 5'8 stature, but being that I was blessed with my grandmothers hour glass shape (all of my weight is ass, thighs & hips)....I hid it pretty well. I gained weight, as most women do in relationships, seriously, what do you do besides go out to eat or stay home and eat. Even though I gained weight, never once did Al make me feel bad about my body.....he complimented me soo much that it kinda felt weird (if that makes any sense).

My weight fluctuated up and down through the years, crash diets, miracle pills.....you name it, I did it. Would I lose weight? YES, would it always come back? YES!

Al & decided to pack up the family and move from NYC to Miami to buy a house. We did this....being that Al had never had any children, the next step was to have a baby. With all honesty, I was perfectly content with just having my 3 girls, but I knew Al would be an amazing father and parenthood is something that I wanted to experience with him. So we decided to try and get pregnant. I went to the GYN and removed my IUD that had been in place for eight years, and within 3 weeks I was pregnant. WOW……talk about fertile huh, I could just hear his sperms "hey guys....wooooooo, this is what we have been practicing for all these years"..he heh

After having Kai my weight was at an all time high of 217 lbs, I felt like crap about myself. I started dieting on my own and going to the gym and lost 11 lbs. A couple of girls I know joined Weight Watchers (WW), so I decided to give it a try…..and the weight just started shedding off, as of today, I am down 55.5 lbs and I feel great! I couldn’t have done it without Weight Watchers…seriously, Fad diets are just that…..the only way to lose weight and keep it off, is with good ol’ fashioned diet and exercise and Weight Watchers gives you the tools to do just that.



I am rewarding myself with a tummy tuck in December, after all, I have had 3 pregnancies (twins and 2 single births) so I can do crunches til the cows come home, but the loss of elasticity in the skin on my abdomen and the muscle separation is something that I cant fix.

okay, I guess I should go do some work now....talk to you soon

Alpha

Well, lets see, where do I start?I am a thirty-something-ish married, full time working mom of four children, the twins are 15, my youngest daughter is 13, and my baby boy will be 1 soon. My life is never dull, there is always something going on. My 3 daughters are from a previous relationship....and my baby boy is from my current relationship.

So if I am thirty-something-ish and my oldest daughters are 15....well you guessed it, I was a teenage mom, on my own since I was 15.....and by 19, I was a single teenage mom of three little girls. Although my ex and I were technically still together, we really weren’t, he never fed, changed, bathed or did anything for the girls, and he was out there pretty much living the single life while I was "winging motherhood", nice huh? We were officially done by the time my youngest daughter was two, but to be honest, we were done before we started......it was the whole little girl with no daddy syndrome..looking for love in all the wrong places.

Everything I have gone through, has been nothing more then stepping stones, I have learned to accept that everything mashed together has molded me into the woman I am today. The woman that can stand on her two feet and doesn’t owe anyone anything. All that I have accomplished, was accomplished with my own sweat and tears.....with no pats on the back needed. Has it been all roses, um, hell-to-the-no, its been hard really hard..........the moral of my story, no sucky parent, no abusive husband....no one can hold you down! You control your universe.....PERIOD, no excuses.

Fast forward to my life now, boy is it hard to try and keep 5 people happy at once, someone is always pissed at me, and i've become quite accustomed to it, and to be honest, sometimes it really sucks, hence the name Mrs. Every Woman aka Mrs. Career, Mrs. Driver, Mrs. Wife, Mrs. Mommy, Mrs. Cook, Mrs. Psycologist, Mrs. Refferee, Mrs. Maid, Mrs. Blame Me for Everything, Mrs. Every-freggin-thing.

Right now its a little crazy at my house, DH is going away to training for a couple of months for work training, my lil' mans b-day is coming up, the girls start school soon.......its allot to handle....but never let em' see you sweat right?