A Plague o' Both Your Houses

Well, maybe not the plague, but the pox.....as in the chicken pox....has infected our house. Thursday night at dinner I noticed some bumps on our 4 year old son's hands that looked a lot like chicken pox. I googled images and thought they looked pretty similar. My husband was quick to dismiss it especially considering all our kids have received the vaccines. We figured it would be pretty unlikely to still end up with the chicken pox. Apparently we were wrong. By Friday morning he had a few more spots but by the afternoon they were everywhere. Our doctor had us bring him in, because they too, were hesitant to believe me.

Confirmed. Chicken pox.

The following day our 19 month old daughter ended up with them. Her case, however, is a much milder case. She only has about 50 pox total. Our son, unfortunately, has hundreds. The doctor said his case is as bad as if he had never been vaccinated. So far our oldest is pox-free, however she woke up today with a high fever, which is was happened to the other two in the days leading to the first pox appearing. Seriously, what would the odds be that three vaccinated children end up with the illness for which they are vaccinated. That just seems really strange to me. I'm not super surprised about our son. He's on meds to help with his lung issues that have messed up his immune system. It leaves him vulnerable to a lot of illnesses which he has unfortunately had. So, for him to be this freak statistic isn't really shocking. However, to have our littlest ones get it also was a bit surprising. If our oldest, the girl with the iron immune system, ends up with the pox I swear the world is ending.

So for now we've watched a lot of movies, taken a ton of oatmeal baths, gone through a bottle of calamine and another of benedryl and seem to be through with the worst of it. The sores are starting to scab and I am hoping we can be back among the living soon!

30 in 4!!!

A few years back when my almost five year old son was around 2 I got serious about my diet and exercise and dropped 32 pounds in about 4 months. I felt great. I got to go out and buy new clothes in brand new sizes, my joints didn't ache as much, I had significantly more energy, and I just felt so much better about myself. I managed to keep that weight off for about a year until I got pregnant with my third. I figured after I had her I would maintain a similar regimen and lose the weight fairly quickly. Oh, the folly!

Eighteen months later and I am in the ballpark of the weight I was a few years ago before I dropped 32 pounds. It sucks. I am tired a lot, my knees and back kill (I will always have knee and back problems thanks to years of playing through injuries in high school and college, however these parts hurt much less when they're not lugging around 30-40 pounds of extra weight), my clothes don't fit right, and I am just unhappy with the extra weight.

The thing with me is I suck at dieting. I always cheat and crave what I can't have. The only way in the past I have been able to keep weight off for a significant amount of time is to just restrict calories and exercise. April 1 was my self-imposed start date for healthier living. We joined a country club primarily for its pool access (unrelated to my weight loss, but a happy coincidence that it is providing a way to stay active). My goal is to weight lift and do high intensity interval training 3x/week in addition to swimming and playing with the kids in the pool another 3-4x/week.

This is only week one and I have a ways to go but already, despite being sore and exhausted, I feel like I have so much more energy. My back is killing and my knees hurt but I know that is just from not doing anything active the past two years and as the weight comes off those pains will minimize. I've been eating pretty healthy and been staying within my calorie allotment. I put an app on my iphone that has been helpful in keeping me honest in terms of what I put into my body. In five days I have dropped 7 pounds. I know that rate won't/can't be maintained but it feels nice to see results. It gives me the boost and encouragement I need to continue, knowing that if I keep at it there will be results. I gave myself an arbitrary deadline of July 31 to try to drop 30 pounds. If I don't give myself a finishing point I will find a way to push it off. So, to keep me motivated I have to view that as the deadline.

So, what about you? What are some ways you have been successful in getting weight off and more importantly keeping it off?