Happy Days

We are now in our new house and loving it. We've got a lot of work to do to make it really feel like our home, but we are working on it. We've got rooms to paint and furniture to buy but we will get it done eventually.

In between moving and working on the house, we've been having lots of fun too. I took Katelyn to a splash park with a friend and her son. Of course, she loved it because she absolutely loves water. It was a bit cold, but she played hard anyway.

Moving on...

A lot has occured since my last post. We were waiting on our house to sell, and it did! It took just about 3 weeks...what a miracle! The buyers paid cash and wanted our house in just a week, so we had to move out rather quickly. We are now living at my parent's house and are just waiting for the closing on our new house. If all goes as planned, we should be moving in at the end of the month. I can't wait. I looove my new house!

Meanwhile, Katelyn is just growing and growing and learning new words every day. Her new thing is to say bye to someone or something and then say "see ya". It's just so cute. She can say more names of family members now. Along with mama and daddy, she says PawPaw, Mimi, Coco (Cody, ha), Juju (Julia), and NayNay. She can say and point to her eyes, nose and hair. She says shoes, outside, slide, bed, peas, bread, please, kitty, and more. I'm so excited when she says little sentences like, "Bye Mama." and  "I got it!". Love my little girl!

Weight and House Buying Update

I went to WW this morning instead of Thursday evening. We were looking at homes in Lumberton on Thursday. And oh my were we disappointed. The houses we looked at weren't what we were hoping for.

Anyway, I lost 3.6 lbs. this week!!! Yay. That's a grand total of 6.8 in three weeks.

I am excited, however, about a house we found in Beaumont. It is absolutely beautiful! Right now, we are in a waiting game. We really would like to sell our house to be able to purchase a house. Two house notes would not be my idea of fun. So I am just praying that if this is meant to be, then we will sell ours soon. So now we wait, patiently, of course...ha.

New Developments

I went to my WW meeting today at noon. Justin couldn't go because of work, but lucky me, I had jury duty and got dismissed at 10:45!! So I had the rest of the day off. I went to the grocery store to stock up on meals for the weekend and stopped by WW to weigh. I lost 1.6 lbs, again. This brings me to a grand total of 3.2 lbs so far in two weeks. It's a start.

In other news....we've put our townhouse up for sale!!! We are excited and nervous, but taking it one day at a time. We aren't in a hurry to sell because we haven't found a house we want to buy yet, but I believe it will all work itself out. We were supposed to go look at some houses with a realtor tonight, but it looks like icy weather will keep us at home instead.

We are definitely outgrowing our little place and need to move, but it's bittersweet thinking about leaving. We have lots of memories from our 5 years of living here. I will always love my first little house....tear.

Recipe Update

So the pan-fried flounder (or tilapia, since H.E.B. didn't have flounder) was just ok. I won't make it again. I am usually disappointed when I make fish for dinner. I absolutely looove it when we eat out, but I usually don't like it when I make it at home. I guess it might be better if I wasn't trying to make it so healthy. Oh well, I guess I need more fish recipes.

Recipes

Both of these are on our menu this week.

Crispy Chicken
5 WWPointsPlus, 4 servings

4 (4 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup fat free Ranch dressing
1/2 cup cornflakes, crushed (They have this at the store already crushed. It's on the baking isle.)
spices of choice (parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.)
salt
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix spices, salk, and cornflakes in a bowl and set aside.
Dip chicken in Ranch dressing. Roll chicken in cornflake mixture.
Cook chicken until done, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.


Chicken Tetrazzini
6 WWPointsPlus, 6 servings

8 ounces cooked chicken, chopped
3 cups cooked spaghetti
3 oz. Mexican-flavor Velveeta, diced small
1 (10 oz) can fat-free cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients and pour into baking dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly.

Plus I plan on making the Pan-Fried Flounder this week. Mmmmm...I'm hungry!

17 1/2 months...Time is flying by!

Every time I look up, the calendar gets closer to the 11th. August 11th is Katelyn's birthday and it just seems like the months just roll by so quickly. She is really becoming such a fun little kid. I can't believe how grown up she acts sometimes.
Here are the things Katelyn can say:

hi, bye bye, mama, go, I go, ready go (re-ey go), duck, juice, cold, bed (bay), baloon (ba-oon), shoes, no, hey, yeehaw, wee, and some others I can't think of right now.

There are a few other words that she just makes a certain sound for, but we know what she means such as,
bath (ba), paci (pee) :), blankie (bee), Mickey (key)

Here is a great picture of her at the park swinging.

Ohhh so Unfair!

Justin and I had a great night weighing in at last night's WW meeting. However, is it fair that he more than tripled my weight loss????  He ended up losing 6 lbs. his first week, while I lost a measley 1.6. I'm happy for my 1.6 victory but it still doesn't seem fair.

This week, I am going to try to get in some exercise. I might have to break out the Wii Fit or the old Biggest Loser Workout DVD and drag myself kicking and screaming to do it. I really hate the idea of exercise, but I know once I start, it will become easier. I've been here before! And, I've learned to like exercising before, but I'm just not feelin' it. I need motivation!!! Maybe thinking about Justin's 6 lbs. will motivate me. We'll see.

Two Recipes to Try

I made this already today to have for lunch later. It took 5 minutes to put together and it's really yummy and makes a lot.

Taco Soup

2 lbs lean ground beef, brown and drain
Add 1 can of each: diced tomatoes with green chilis, Pinto beans with jalepenos, corn
Add 1 packet Ranch seasoning and 1 packet Taco seasoning
1 Tbsp chili powder
Garlic powder to taste
Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 1 hour.


Here is a Weight Watchers recipe I plan on trying. Since I've already been to the store for the week, I will probably try it next week. I will let you know what we think of it.

Pan-Fried Flounder
WW PointsPlus: 5
Servings:4

1 lb. flounder fillets
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 lg. egg white, whipped until stiff
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. fresh or 1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
2 sprays Olive Oil cooking spray
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

Rinse fish, pat dry.
Spread with mustard, dip in egg white, set aside.
Mix dry ingredients and cover fish with it.
Coat pan with spray. Heat oil until shimmering.
Cook 2-3 minutes on each side.

So Much for 9 months on, 9 months off...

It's been 17 months since Katelyn was born and I've tried losing some of the weight I gained during my pregnancy only to quit trying after only losing a couple of pounds. This time, I've called in the big guns....Weight Watchers. Justin and I are determined to lose some weight, so stay tuned and see the transformation. Maybe this will keep me accountable. My goal is to lose 30 pounds. I don't really have a time limit on it, but the sooner the better right? My first WW meeting was Thursday but I actually started dieting last Monday. I've already lost a few pounds, so that's a good start. I will update every Thursday with my results. Hopefully the number on the scale will continue to go down.

100% Back

David had his last chemo treatment yesterday! We had a lot to celebrate, so we all took off Thursday night to make the trip to Houston. David had to go in for chemo Friday, so we met up with him when he was finished and had cake. Then, we went to Dave and Buster's for some games and Pappasito's for dinner. All in all, it was a great day with something wonderful to celebrate.

David and Dr. Dryer at Texas Children's in Houston.

My Girl

Here are just a few recent pictures I took with my new camera. Here is Katelyn the day after Christmas at Mimi and Pawpaw's house.

 This is Katelyn's new Power Wheels she got for Christmas.

 Sweet sleepy baby.

 Daddy and Katelyn at Bounce Zone.

 Weee!!

Baby's SECOND Christmas

I am looking forward to Christmas this year so much. Having a little one really makes preparing for Christmas really fun. She's not really old enough to understand everything that goes on but she's old enough to have fun with family and enjoy her new toys. She loves messing with the Christmas tree ornaments and looking at Christmas lights as we drive around town. She even can tell you that Santa Claus says "Ho Ho Ho".

Here are some things my baby can do at 16 months:

• She can say a few words now. She says: mama, dada, go, cold , keys, tea, peas, uh-oh, hi, bye, uh-huh (for yes), and no.
• She can make animal sounds for several animals including moo, woof woof, and quack ("ah ah")
• She has learned to scribble with crayons.
• She can climb up a few steps and slide.
• She is so in love with going to bed at night. She will say "uh-huh" when I ask her if she wants to go to bed. I'm not sure that is very normal, but I love it!
• She is wanting to use a fork to feed herself sometimes.
• I love that she can answer with "uh-huh" or "no" to most questions I ask her. It makes it easier to figure out what she wants.

October- 14 months

We dressed Katelyn up like Minnie Mouse for Halloween and she looked so cute.

September- 13 months

A while back, we took Katelyn to the Port Neches Splash Park. She had a blast! She never stopped running the whol 45 minutes we were there.

It's Been So Long Since I Blogged...

that I forgot my password.

I finally figured out how to reset it, so hopefully I will upload some pics, and maybe a video or two, this weekend.

A New Milestone

We officially have a walking baby! It is so fun to watch her walk. It's taken her about a month to go from taking her very first steps and falling every few steps to now walking freely all over the house. Now that she's got it figured out, she seems to be having the time of her life. Her new thing is seeing what she can pick up and carry around. Some of her favorites are the phone, her blanket, and a golf ball :). (Last night she went to bed with the golf ball)...we may have the next Tiger Woods on our hands. I'm trying to get a good video of her walking and as soon as I do, I will post it.

Happy Birthday Katelyn Rose!

We celebrated Katelyn's first birthday this past weekend. The party turned out to be so much fun. Katelyn enjoyed her special day by eating cake, playing with her cousins, and being pushed in her new pink car. Here are some pics to prove it!

Check out this Big Girl!!!

Our First Family Vacation

Although it was a short trip, I still consider it our first family vacation. Justin has the week off so we headed to Houston for a night. We took Katelyn to The Children's Museum and the Houston Zoo. We also made a stop at the Katy Mills Mall and The Rainforest Cafe. The trip was a lot of fun, although very tiring with an almost 11 month old in tow.

First stop on the way, Pappasitos.

Katelyn had fun exploring the hotel room.

Here we are at the Children's Museum. They have an area called the "Tot Spot" for kids up to 36 months where babies can explore all kinds of things from play cars, balls, instruments, switches and doors, tunnels, and more. I'm glad we made this stop.

Swimming at the hotel.

At the Zoo.

Lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.