My new family, Adam, Me (Kathy) Michael, and Adam

                                                 Our Puppies... Vladimir and Louie

It's been a very long time since I blogged, but I realized as 2021 began that I MISS BLOGGING. I may have lost all of my readers/followers from when I first started but I am going to blog anyway. Maybe some of you are still here and might be interested in what's been happening in my crazy life.

For now I just want to say HAPPY NEW YEAR and wish you all a year of health and happiness. I have been truly blessed and I am looking forward to updating you all on my life and dreams and challenges.

GRADUATION THOUGHTS

I "graduated" from high school in 1980 when I was 17. I wanted to be a teacher, but I got married 3 mos later, still at age 17 by the way (long story) and well, college after that was just not an option.

A couple years later I "graduated" into motherhood. That was one of the most rewarding times of my life, and also the beginning of the downfall of my weight struggle. I was pregnant four times and I was blessed with two living children, BOYS, I had a miscarriage at 4 1/2 months and a stillborn daughter, whom I buried in 1987. I gained most of my weight after that. Sadness is a hard thing to overcome.

I still can't explain how it got so out of control, my eating that is, but I found myself at 523+ pounds and stayed there, with a yoyo syndrome of lose 100 gain 120, lose 75 gain 100, etc. over the next 20 years. I had "graduated" into a morbidly obese woman, who was facing death. Literally. Doctors gave me 2 years max to live.

Around this same time I also "graduated" into becoming a NANA. This was one of the most amazing times in my life. I LOVE my grandson more than anything. I did NOT want to die and not see him grow up.

It was time to "graduate" into a healthy person again. I started to find creative ways to exercise, I ate good, I followed the WW plan & I lost 125 pounds. It took me 3 1/2 years to do it. But it wasn't enough. At the rate I was losing the Dr said I would still die before I got healthy. I was still on oxygen, still could barely walk or drive a car and still on many medications. I had to do more. I wanted to do more. So I went to the Bariatric DR and signed up for weight loss surgery.

In 2008, on my 46th birthday, I "graduated" into a WLS patient. My stomach is now the size of an egg. I physically cannot eat the amounts of food I was accustomed to anymore. The weight began to fall off for 18 months, I lost 200 pounds during that honeymoon period. I felt worthy again. I believed I could DO this finally.

BUT life is never perfect even for a hard core perfectionist like me. Next, I "graduated" into that dreaded period of re-gain... yep it happens... after 18 months, even though I have had surgery, I am just like everyone else, I have to watch what I eat and exercise if I want to lose or maintain. Those one taste of a chip lead to a snack bag of chips, that led to a can of pringles over the course of a day (still can't eat in one sitting). I watched new WLS friends coming into the program weighing what I weighed now, and then getting down to a size 4, and I started feeling like I was a failure. I went from 523 to 179 to 220. From a size 6X dress, that was still tight, to a size 12... now more like a 16 or an 18. Jealousy can lead a person to not think good things about themselves. I was so happy for my friends but their success was only highlighting my failures in my eyes.

"Graduation" day again, this time to a pity party, a long pity party. Why bother? I may be 1/2 the person I used to be but I am still fat. I can walk again, I can drive, I can exercise, I can ride roller coasters.

I don't need seat belt extensions on a plane but I am still fat. Everyone looks better than me. I don't like these parties. I am thankful I have friends that care enough to remind me of the things I CAN do now and how proud and inspired my journey has been. They reminded me I CAN DO ANYTHING. Anything? Even going back to school? YES especially that.

So in 2010 I enrolled in college. I want to be a licensed clinical social worker, I want to counsel and help weight loss patients, people who need to lose, are losing, or have lost weight, especially 100 pounds or more. I've been through the good times, and the bad times and fallen but I've gotten back up. I guess I have overcome. I want to help them too. Losing weight is the hardest thing anyone will ever do and with or without WLS it's always up to the individual. Yesterday, I "GRADUATED" from college with my associates degree, and a 4.0 GPA. Me... the failure. I can no longer call myself that failure word with a straight face. 

I still plan on losing more weight. I still plan on using my "tool" to control and manage the foods I CHOOSE to put in my mouth, I still plan on exercising my body in the gym and my mind with positive and encouraging thoughts. And you know what, if my weight stayed right where it is now, I am still a success. I am NOT DEAD, and I have no plans on dieing anytime soon.

I have "graduated" into an empowered, determined, & confident woman, & I want everyone to know that they TOO can be that person.

So there you go... This is where my mind is today... 

Day 5 of SC Trip- The Childrens Museum and GRITS

As usual Nana was up and already up and had coffee, decaf of course... oh and while I'm on the subject of coffee, let me just say if anyone plans on having me come to stay for a visit you MUST have a Keurig... I swear once you go Keurig no other coffee will do... ok back to my post... and Adam and Mama are still sleeping.

We had a treat this morning for breakfast... baby brother Jack and Jamie joined us at The Waffle House...

Adam had Waffles and Grits... what the heck is a grit anyway??? It just doesn't sound pleasant to me, makes me think of sand. Jack had grits too and BACON... doesn't that picture look like he has bacon for a tongue? LOL

We decided to go see the Children's Museum with the boys after breakfast. What a cute place... first thing Adam saw was the 2 story jungle gym thing

There were space shuttles and race cars and dinosaurs and a music room... and more. Here are a few of the pictures I got of Adam playing today

Naturally a spot where water was involved, because we all know Adam loves to get wet.

Speaking of getting wet... this cow really squirted water out when you milked her... look at that face? LOL

Is any children's place complete without a slide made from a STOMACH, lol?
Of course by the end of the trip we were all

climbing the walls lol...
Oh and I must say chasing the two boys around three floors of a museum really burns off those calories... I walked in one way and walked out THINNER here's the proof... :-)

 I think I'll leave on this positive note... Thin feels great LOL

Day 4 of SC Trip- Resurrection Sunday- AKA Easter

Today we woke up with rabbit ears, HOW did that happen :-)

We watched church online and saw Papa and Autumn. That was a treat.

We are going to go to church in SC and then Adam and his brother are going to spend Easter with some of his brothers family. I hope they have lots of fun. I won't be there so I won't have any photos to post, I guess we will have to use our imagination.

Only 2 more days left of vacation... Adam broke the Internet router this morning, I got  it working but it's only a temporary fix, hopefully we can get it replaced and not lose Internet again.

Just in case I will post this now.

Happy Easter....

Day 3 of SC Trip- The Monkeys Are Restless

No this isn't Jack and Adam... but I had you wondering didn't I?
Today we went to the Greenville Zoo... Adam's favorite animal was the LION... but I have to say he equally enjoyed the monkeys and snakes and birds too.

I tried to get Adam to pose with the animals but he was not cooperating... here are a few pics I managed to get...

Of course we can't go to a zoo and NOT see Nana's favorite animal... any guesses what that is???

Those of you that know me... guessed...

PINK FLAMINGOS :-)
Adam was the good big brother and tried to help mama carry the little brother because her back was killing her...

After the Zoo, poor Angie had to have her back fixed by Adam

and then we had ice cream sandwiches, watched some movies, took naps and then had pizza for dinner. The boys played with each other and laughed. They love to play with each other.

On that note... Adam and Jack say see ya again soon.... grrrrrrr in their best "bear" voice

Day 2 of SC Trip- CAROWINDS

All I have to say is look at these three faces... who do you think is enjoying this ride the most? LOL.

So today was our trip to Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte NC. It was about a 2 hour drive maybe a little less, and NO RAIN. It was the perfect day for walking around a roller coaster park, slight wind, sun shining but not so hot you couldn't breathe :-)

Adam as never been on a roller coaster so it was so fun to see him experience them for the first time. He loved the first one, the second one was a loop de loop coaster and he seemed to like that as well, although he did say he felt a little dizzy. The loop de loop kind are my favorite. The third was the old wooden roller coaster, Angies favorite and the one I feared the most. We all survived.

Adam's favorite rides were the ones we got soaked on... we rode one waterfall ride three times in a row and after we dried we found another one and we were wet all over again.

Adam of course HAD TO HAVE a Squid hat...

A

You have to love NC... they do love their NASCAR drivers, especially Dale Earnhardt, which was the only driver I saw represented at the park.

PS Notice Adam and I are both wearing Angry Bird shirts :-)

One more pic of Adam next to the race car... oh and me trying out the squid hat :-)

We ate lunch in the park... big mistake... but Adam wanted a hot dog and fries... OMG $9 for a hot dog and fries, NO DRINK.

The ride home was uneventful... Adam fell asleep in the car and I put my feet up and let Angie do all the driving. I HAD to put my feet upt though cause she was setting them on fire with the heat.

Well I guess I'll end it here... Adam says We Will See You All Tomorrow... Good night

Day 1 Of SC Vacation with Adam

 

Adam's plane ride was good and bad. He recently got over an ear infection, so when his ears started to pop on the first flight he was a little scared and cried. But by the second flight out of Chicago he was ready for it and no problem. Of course the fact that he took a nap helped too I think... 

We arrived in SC and the first order of business was to go get baby brother Jack!!!

 Adam and Jack finally see each other after almost a year. They both got WAY bigger, but they still knew their brother on sight :-)

 Jack is a little wrestler... He was quick to wrestle Adam to the ground and proceeded to BODY SLAM him. Adam is the tolerant big brother... he laughed. I, Nana, was a little scared he might break something, but I have to admit it was fun to watch.

 Our last event of the day was to stop by Dairy Queen for some Ice cream heaven... Angie, Jack and Adam waited patiently for their order to arrive... NOT

And here is is... Brownie something delight for Adam and Banana blizzard something for Jack... me I just had a child size cup of plain old soft chocolate and a glass of ice. I was thrilled :-)

We brought Jack home and got caught in a major rain storm, a quick trip, is there EVER a quick trip, to Walmart. $103 later we were back home to shower and get ready for bed.

Friday, Good Friday, is tomorrow. We have plans to ride roller coasters all day, hopefully the rain will decide to go elsewhere for the day.

See you tomorrow for day 2 :-)

Day Sixty Seven of Super Summer 2011

Day 67 of Super Summer 2011

Well once again we are out way past our bedtime. It's almost 2am and I am just blogging again. So let's see if I can recap the day and still get to bed in time to get oh maybe 4 hours of sleep.

The day for us actually started at NOON, well for Adam at least. This is what he looked like at 11:30 this morning

Don't you just love how he sleeps with one foot in the air? I actually was worried about him still sleeping that late in the morning and snuck in to make sure he was still breathing. I know that's silly but I couldn't help myself, I worry sometimes.

He got up and decided to have lunch for breakfast since breakfast has already passed us by. I on the other hand was not feeling very good, bad stomach ache so I ended up laying in bed for the afternoon and Adam played the Wii and watched his favorite shows while I tried to feel better.

I did feel better so at about 6PM we headed out to have dinner with my sisters and my dad at the Olive Garden. The picture at the top of the blog was Adam in the car on the way and this picture is Adam at the restaurant, he was just so excited to be there

Actually he really did have a good time, he had macaroni and cheese and ate the whole bowl and I think 4 garlic bread sticks. In this picture he was slouching in the chair trying to look short and small, not sure why his face looks so glum.

After dinner we dropped Papa home because he had a very early start to the day, he had to leave for work at 3:30am, and we went to get a treat before heading back to Dayna's again.

You gotta love ice cream, homemade ice cream too, from the ice cream place. I have been trying to get there for a few days so Adam was very happy. He ate the whole thing too.

Adam and Hannah played cards and on the Wii while the adults played one round of Progressive Rummy. I almost won, but they ganged up on me and I came in second. Oh well, next time I am gonna win for sure.

So that is the re-cap of the day. Other than me being sick (still sick even now but better than earlier) we had a wonderful but very long and late day.

Tomorrow is the last day to see my dad, breakfast at the diner is on the agenda. Maybe I can get the waitress to take a photo of us all at the table tomorrow, I haven't had much of a chance to get pictures while they have been here.

But that's tomorrow, well really today. And if I don't get to bed soon I'll be MIA for the breakfast party.

Day Sixty Six of Super Summer 2011

Day Sixty Six of Super Summer 2011

I tell you this blogging at 1am is getting to be NOT much fun. I have got to get home earlier so i can post at a regular hour. It's wonderful having my dad here to visit but all I can say is our schedule for everything is messed up.

After about maybe 6 hours of sleep we all got up and got our butts to church. I always feel better after church. Adam feels better especially if Mike is at church, he just loves Mike. :-)

Then we filled the cars with gas and headed to a birthday BBQ picnic party. Problem with that was the thunderstorms had arrived by the afternoon and it was all rained out, but we went anyway and just stayed indoors.

Next we came back home so Nana could rest before we headed back out for dinner and games at Dayna's again. I made some chicken enchiladas and tossed salad and my sister Erin made macaroni and cheese. We played some progressive rummy but we didn't finish the game. I was too tired and the kids were starting to get a little cranky too. Time to call it a night was agreed on by all.

Tomorrow is the last full day of my dad's visit so hopefully we will make it a good one. If I want to be a part of that though I best get to bed like an hour ago, LOL.

Oh I almost forgot the picture of Adam today was him directing the storm when to flash lightening and to rain harder. He'd raise his hands and just say what he was expecting and then waited for it to happen. I thought is was so cute.

OK Now I am really going to bed, YAWN

Day Sixty Five of Super Summer 2011

Day Sixty Five of Super Summer 2011

Adam  got to see my dad and his wife today. It is actually the second time he met them only the first time he was only 2 months old. We picked up Adam from his dads and brought him to church and then to Daynas for dinner and just hanging out with the family.

I made Shepherds Pie for dinner and I was making Adam a plate and he asked what it was. I said it was hamburger, corn and mashed potatoes. He said I don't think I want that. I firmly said well he had to eat dinner. Then he said, wait is that shepherds pie? Yes I said, Ok I'll eat that. Kids, LOL

Adam, Hannah, Colin and Laura had a night swim tonight. For a change they actually stayed in the pool for almost an hour maybe more, usually when the sun is out and it's hot they get in for 5 min and then out again. 

The adults played Mexican Train dominoes while the kids played on the Wii. Four kids with only three Wii controllers we expected a war, but they played for hours with no incident. It was a great night.

In fact it's almost 2am and we are just getting home. Needless to say I am gonna make this short and sweet, I have church in the morning and need to get at least 2 hours of sleep.

Good night.

Day Sixty Four of Super Summer 2011

Day Sixty Four of Super Summer 2011

Now if you knew Adam's momma you would know that that face, yes the one is this photo, is exactly like hers. I laugh, when I see this face on Adam because I swear I can actually HEAR his momma's voice. It's rather freaky. LOL This was taken at the park where he was playing with his dad before the thunder storms came in. The blue mouth I hope, I wasn't there to witness it, is either a popsicle or a lolipop that was blue. Please let that be what it was because the other options are not good, not good at all.

I didn't see much of Adam today so not too much to actually blog about. My dad and his wife finally arrived, much later than planned they were stuck in some bad traffic, not to mention their flight had some issues too because of the thunder storms. But they made it and we just got back to my apartment to get them settled in for the night.

Tomorrow I am sure we will do some fun stuff so hopefully some good blogging will follow. Until then...

Day Sixty Three of Super Summer 2011

Day Sixty Three of Super Summer 2011

Is that not the face of a kid that is having a blast? Adam loves playing with my photo shop and today he made several photos of himself. This was his favorite.

We had a great lazy day. Good thing because my legs were killing me from all the work I did yesterday. I didn't bring him to his dad's until after 4pm. He said he would stay the night but he wasn't gonna take his shower there. LOL. Yep this will be a problem come school time.

Adam decided to draw some "master pieces" today. There were several drawings he made and he was extremely proud of them all. He suggested we staple them to the walls of the apartment. Um we don;t staple to Nana's walls I told him, it's OK Nana they do it at my school I saw them. I suggested we tape them to the door of his bedroom, he agreed. Whew that crisis solved. This is the display of today's drawings...

Let's see from top to bottom...
1- an octopus/squid
2- a dragon
3- a door with a golden key
4- a fox on a box wearing socks playing blocks
5- several birds some flying and some standing next to a bird bath
6- a pirate ship and several pirates
7- (not seen it's on other side of door) a mermaid and more pirates

I think maybe there is an artist talent bug inside this boy. :-)

Well it's almost 11:30 and I am exhausted. Bedtime for me. My dad comes tomorrow and I need a little beauty sleep, he is staying here and I don't want to scare him away.

Nighty night

\

Day Sixty Two of Super Summer 2011

Day Sixty Two of Super Summer 2011

Well finally at 10pm I got Adam back home from his dads. He slept over night there last night and then spent the day with him today. They went to the park and to visit Katie Bob too. This made Adam very happy. I picked them up there after church and Adam was wearing his sad face because he wanted to stay longer. I think he is going back again tomorrow maybe, because he said SHE said it was OK. :-)

So in the car I ask Adam if he is coming home to Nana's or going to Dad's again for the night. He tells his dad he is deciding which he wants to do. He finally says I want to stay at dad's, until dad says he has to take a shower. Adam only wants to take showers at Nana's because I have the best shower. Those of you who have seen my house I am sure understand this, I do have an awesome really cool shower. I tell everyone the bathroom is my favorite room in the apartment. LOL Of course this may be a problem when school starts and he is all week long sleeping at dad's house. I guess we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

While Adam was gone today I cleaned his room. It took me four hours but it looks wonderful. All toys are in their place, bed was made and everything. Adam came home and said he has never seen such a clean room. Then he had to tuck in all his dream buddies in the bed. LOL. That's what the picture above is.

I stole a picture off his dad's facebook page this morning of Adam sleeping in on his couch... it was going to be my blog photo of the day until he saw his clean room. :-)

Well I am pretty worn out today, I really worked hard getting this house ready for when my dad arrives Friday. I also had an interview for my internship/field work for this semester. I will be working with the "Jewish Family Services" helping with supervised visits between parents and children. I am really looking forward to this.

On that note I am gonna make sure Adam is all tucked in and I am going to bed. Good Night.