Chica-GO or Chica-STAY?

So, I thought after our trip to Chicago that I would blog about it. Plus I had a special request from my good pal Sherrell! :) I already blogged about my favorite part of the whole trip....but now I fill you in on the trip itself! :) So we left for Chicago, IL on Friday July 27th around 5a.m. I wanted us to leave early because I wanted us to get there early enough to actually do something. LOL So our gps says we should arrive around 9:45a.m. (I believe that's what it said) So we're just driving along. Singing songs, enjoying the car ride. Well it approaches 9:45a.m. and our GPS says we still have a long ways to go. We were SO confused. We figured maybe we put the address in wrong? Maybe the GPS is broken? Hmmmmm? What could it be? After re-checking to make sure our destination was the right address we kinda just sit back in silence. All of a sudden I blurt out "TIME CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" hahahahahaha! Illinois is an 1hr behind Michigan. My husband claims me as brilliant and we continue on our journey. It only took us about 4hrs to get there. Which means we got there around 11a.m. The hotel we stayed in was called the Radisson. Located in Des Plaines, IL. It was 1.5miles from the O'Hare Chicago Airport. I was confused as to why the airport claimed to be in Chicago when we were clearly in Des Plaines...but whatever. So, we check into our hotel early. I was delighted to discover, once we reached our room, that we had a sleep number king size bed!!!!! I had always wanted to try one out! See what all the fuss was about. Well, once we dropped our stuff off, we didn't have much time before packing up the back-pack (filled with diapers, sippy cups, snacks for little kids, extra clothes....etc etc etc.) and heading downstairs to meet the shuttle bus at 11:30a.m. The hotel provided a complimentary shuttle that would leave every half our on the hour and half hour marks. So we rushed to be down in the lobby at 11:30 only to find out the bus had left a little bit early. Oh well. It was nice outside, so we sat outside and waited for the Noon bus. Eventually we made it to the O'Hare Airport where the Blue Line ran on the CTA Metro system. Let me say up front. NOTHING is clear in Chicago. There are no clear instructions on ANYTHING. They just expect you to know where to go. So we arrive at this terminal. I'm paying attention to what door the bus dropped us off at. The main stream of people seem to be flowing off to the right. So we follow. :)Thank goodness for people else we would've stood around in the terminal ALL day! We take an elevator up. I kept looking to figure out what floor we were on but couldn't find a number. There was a HUGE Cubs sign but nothing else. Silly me didn't put two and two together. The floors weren't numbered. They were categorized by Chicago type stuff. Well I didn't end up figuring that out til Theo told me on our way back. Anyways...we take an elevator up to a MAD frenzy at the Metro. Everyone's rushing to get tickets and there are long lines. I felt overwhelmed IMMEDIATELY! This is the moment I then remember, I HATE big crowds. I literally feel like I can't breathe. Here in Michigan everyone's so spread out even though it's a city, you don't get that choked up hussle-bussle city feel. To be honest. Hindsight, we probably should've turned around and gone back to the hotel and just relaxed that day. But of course....then I thought "Oh I can do this!" I stop trying to focus on my suffocating feeling and overwhelmingness. Theo purchases our passes with very little problem. That is after I found an attendant and asked if we had to pay for the boys. Because, there were of course NO postings of who had to pay on the Metro line. Like I said...Chicago just assumes you know things. After the passes are purchased we then take the handicap elevator to the platform. Of course we can't figure out which of the 3 buses to get on...but we figure "eh! This is only 1 line...it has to eventually get us where we wanna go." Well, let me just say. I've ridden a Metro in D.C. (several times) AND the subway in New York (also a decent amount of times) and I knew we could switch over to different color lines to get as close to our end destination as possible. Our end destination that day was The Navy Pier where the USO was located and the Chicago Children's Museum. My husband didn't listen to me that we could switch lines and so, my loving...oh so wonderful husband got us off at a stop TWO MILES from where we needed to be!!!!! TWO MILES!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not saying 2 miles is too much to walk...BUT...when we're JUST starting our day out?!?! So, Theo keeps telling me "Oh! We're almost there! We're almost there!" Yeah...we never were. I was so frustrated, hungry and tired. Mind you, we hadn't eaten lunch yet. Just had breakfast and snacks in the car. We FINALLY make it to the Navy Pier's USO. Which for those of you who don't know...is basically a place for only Military where you can go and rest. They have like a REALLY nice living room type set up. With TV, magazines, computers, a play area for the kids. A kitchen with a fridge full of free drinks! They also had bowls of chips, crackers and other goodies on every table! I felt like I was in heaven after walking all that way. The only flaw to the USO....they have NO bathroom! So you have to go back out into the crowd and find your way to the public bathroom and stand in line. But once we were at the USO, we were able to snack, re-fuel, change diapers and just BREATHE without being in the MASSIVE crowd. SOOOO nice. The USO might have been my favorite part of Friday. haha! Anyways....after resting there for awhile we then proceed to head to the Children's Museum. Which wasn't far from the USO. It was free for all of us to get in! It was amazing. The first Children's museum Isaiah had ever been to! He LOVED it!!!!! LOVED it! They even had this designated areas for baby's who couldn't walk. It was amazing. A little crowded, but the museum was big enough that you didn't feel suffocated. After that we were all STARVED!!!! So Theo directs us to Giodorno's Famous Chicago Stuffed Pizza. We, of course had to do more walking. OH! Let me take a time out to say, we didn't realize that on the metro, not every stop is handicap accesable. I can't remember when we had to do this, but I know it was Friday, we had to literally carry the double jogging stroller (with both boys in it-Isaiah weighs 40lbs and Collin 20lbs) up a HUUUUUGE flight of stairs! I can't remember exactly where they were or anything...but we did that about 3 times. So add that to my exhaustion list. So back to the pizza place. Theo had talked this place up. He had gone to Chicago for work back in May and had raved about it. Love it. Wanted to take me there. So anyways, when he explained to me this pizza...I had my doubts I would like it. It was stuffed pizza with sauce on top. I'm not a fan of having sauce on TOP of my cheese. LOL Well...needless to say...I was right. I didn't like it. But I did eat two slices which made me feel like I was going to bust a gut. I was SOOOO full. So I'll give them that much. I've NEVER eaten just 2 pieces of pizza and felt so full. LOL That was pretty much the end of day 1. Day 2-Saturday! Saturday was better. We finally learned to figure which stops were handicap! We also got off of a stop that was WAYYYYY closer to where we needed to be. Saturday we went to The Shedd Aquarium. That was NOT as great as I expected. We had to pay $8 for me and that only allowed us to see all different kinds of fish (basic fish) and a few sting rays. No sharks, no whales, no dolphins. Nothing cool! No eels or jelly fish. It was lame and WAY overly crowded. Of course we spent WAY more time standing in line, than we even spent in the aquarium itself. Once we were done there we walked ALLLLLL along the lake. It was so far! We walked about 2miles back to the Navy Pier. We stopped in the USO to catch a breathe and get some refreshments. I love that place! We ended up eating at this AWESOME place called Epic Burger. I'm pretty sure that was the most amazing part of Chicago. Most certainly the best food I ate while I was there!!!! Basically it's all organic. The beef is organic...I'm not a meat person, but that beef tasted SOOOO good. The cheese, all the veggies are grown right there in Illinois! It's soooo awesome! I am completely obsessed. Sadly they're only in Chicago. :( Oh well! I'm glad I got to experience the great taste of burger. Day 3-Sunday! Sunday was short. Mostly because we had to drive back to Michigan! Basically all we did was the Willis Tower. Which used to be the Sears tower. Again we spent WAYYYY more time waiting in line than actually being up in the tower. But it was nice to experience. On the way back to the hotel we simply picked up some Subway. The drive back was a bit more frustrating. We barely left the hotel and hit traffic RIGHT away. Thankfully Theo and I dealt with it by singing fun songs like Haddaway's "What is Love". We also had some fun good conversation. Both of the boys, of course, were passed out so it gave us some quiet time to chat. Overall, our trip was fun! It was a bit rough here and there. But every day got better because we learned how to navigate the city better. I'm glad we had the opportunity to travel and see things like this. Growing up, we didn't get to travel, so it's nice that we can experience it now with our little family! So in the end...should we Chica-GO or Chica-STAY?! I say GO! :)

Today's Blog is brought to you by the number 6 and the letter S

Why the number 6 and letter S you might ask? Well 6 would be the amount of times we road a bus to and from the Blue Line CTA Metro stop. They had a free shuttle bus from our hotel (Radisson in Des Plaines, IL) to the O'Hare Airport where the Blue Line CTA Metro line ran. Of course, when riding the shuttle bus there aren't car seats. So Theo always sat with Isaiah and I would keep Collin. EVERY single time we road that shuttle bus, that cute, cuddly little boy named Collin would curl up onto me and most of the time drift off to sleep. The ride was only about 7min long. So sometimes we just wouldn't be on there long enough for him to fall asleep. But he totally loved cuddling with me. So let's back track here a bit. I can't remember if I've blogged about this before. But when I was pregnant with Collin at times it felt like he was literally grabbing my internal parts and squeezing them to death. I thought I was imagining things. It REALLY hurt sometimes. I mean it just felt like pinching and grabbing. VERY painful. So as soon as he was born, I noticed he HAS to grab EVERYTHING. And when he sleeps, he grabs something soft for comfort! Like for example, his blanky. He grabs it and pulls it to his face and falls asleep. Well on the bus, he would grab my shirt or at one point he grabbed under my arm and was pinching it. He kept pinching and squeezing it. I wanted so badly to say it hurt, but honestly, I felt honored. Honored and loved. Honored that my skin...practically my arm fat, was comfort enough for him. He loves me unconditionally, so a mere arm was enough to soothe him to sleep. Which brings us to the letter of the day. S. S for a sleepy baby! :) Isaiah was never one to cuddle with. EVER! Even now. Isaiah is very much an independent 100% Daddy's boy! I mean, he likes me enough, but just hasn't ever fallen asleep on me or anything. It made me not really feel like a mother. Well God has finally blessed me with a child who makes me feel like a nurturing mother. He loves me just the way I am, and I am enough comfort for him to sleep. In this picture you can see how he has my shirt squeezed in his hand. BEST feeling in the whole world. Thank you God for blessing such as these! :)

Chicago Bound

So for the first time in awhile I'm SO excited to take a little trip! We're going to Chicago, IL! I am SO beyond excited. It's not too far from home and we get to do a whole bunch of free stuff while we're there. Ever since Theo took a work related trip there (back in May) he's wanted to take me there. I've never been! He raved about how amazing it was and he took lots of pictures! Anyways, I didn't have the best week last week. It was just a very odd, overly emotional, not thinking straight kind of week. Theo is stressed with work. So, what better way to distress than to do something fun as a family? So, to Chicago we go! Some of the places we will be visiting will be: -Chicago Children's Museum -The Shedd Aquarium -The Navy Pier

Of course that's a very small list of what we'll be doing. We're going to stay two nights at a hotel near the airport. (WAY cheaper that way) Then we'll metro into downtown where all the fun stuff is! :) I'm pretty excited. I think we'll ALL have fun, and being some where besides home having fun, I think will help us tremendously! So stay tuned for pictures and updates of our trip! :)

Curvy is fat!

So I just had to post this blog. I feel I'm entitled to say what I want because I AM overweight! LOL!!!! So basically, if you don't wanna hear what I have to say or you're going to criticize this.....don't read it! :) So! If you're an overweight girl....how many times have you heard other girls who are overweight say "You're just a curvy girl!" Or "Us big-boned girls have to stick together"? Yeah....I'm sure you've heard it lots of times. Cause I certainly have! I wish people would learn to say what it is. It's FAT! Now, don't get me wrong, there are actual curvy people. For example...when I drop all this weight...I will have curves. HEALTHY one's!!!!! Like a booty, boobs....curves like that! But I'm just getting sick and tired of people using those words to describe me. It's FAT! That's what it is! Plain 'ol F-A-T!!!!! And there is NO such thing as Big Boned! You can be more solid than most people. Or you can just naturally be larger. For example Isaiah Brent was born SO big! That boy is pure solid! But I will hopefully instill on him great eating habits and a healthy active lifestyle so that he won't jump into that fat unhealthy category. I really am just sick and tired of people saying things like that to me. If you wanna be nice...just say "overweight". Curvy and big-boned are just cover-up words for making "Fat" sound nicer. I wish us girls would stop using it. Maybe if we helped tell each other the truth more, we could help keep each other accountable and not be in such unhealthy states! It's like us women calling each other "Bitches" "Hos" things like that. It's actually a nice way of saying "You have a problem and need help! Only I'm gonna make fun of you instead!" It's ridiculous! I wish we as women would have more self esteem and seek the help we need. I've finally gotten motivated to be healthy. I refuse to diet. I'm making a life style change. If I want to eat something junky, I will, I just don't eat as much. Or I finally seem to be able to decide what's worth the calories and what's not. I seem to limit myself SOOOO much better now! And exercising is my best friend now! I love it!!!!! So for us overweight girls, let's stop making excuses and nice cover up words...and let's get on it! Let's get healthy!!!!!!!

A Nice Hot Shower

So, some people go on walks to clear there head. Me? I take a hot shower. Rather when I get the chance to take a nice hot shower.....I like to sort things out. For example...how steaming mad I am right now. Maybe not mad. Maybe just fed up. Frustrated, even. Sometimes life just doesn't play out how we think it should. Which you'd think a person would get used to...but nah. They don't. Every time something pops up that we don't like and don't expect....we cry and complain about it. I mean...after all...it's just human nature. Right? I don't really want to go into too many details of what's frustrating me right now...because...well some people DO read this...and any time I venture out to say how I really feel, more people end up reading it then I expected and I get unwanted advice/criticism for it. "Oh sure! Don't read all my other nice posts, just read the one where I vent and loose my head a little!" Anyways, continuing on...can you tell I'm in an irritable mood? I am frustrated with life right now. I have really been mostly content living in Michigan thus far. The weather here is just SO nice! I have spent more time outdoors here then I have ever! Well okay...when I was a kid I played outside all day ever day...but since childhood. It's hardly ever too muggy or too hot. It's always so nice! And allergy wise? I do so much better here. My asthma doesn't flare up every single time it's hot. It's so nice. Anyways...so that being said, I've loved my time here in MI. But it's not everything. I have no girlfriends here. I'm setting up play dates and etc...but I have yet to have much girl bonding time without having to keep an eye on the boys etc. Being in a house with all males...well...it's just not the charmed life...that's for sure. So anyways, now this blog has been cut short because I have to go and take care of some things. But anyways...at least I vented for a bit. *sigh*

The Diary of a Frustrated Fat Momma!

Yes, I am calling myself fat because that is what I am. I'm not using it to define me, but the truth is I've totally and completely let myself go. And that's no one's fault but my own! I let myself get out of control, then I had 2 babies in 2 years. That doesn't do nice things to your body. Especially when you were fat to begin with. Some may say "Oh it's baby weight" WRONG! I lost all baby weight pretty much by the time I walked out of the hospital. Mostly because my boys were near 10lbs and so after they came out, there wasn't much baby weight left. LOL!!!! But anyways, I seemed to gain weight after I had them. I know with Collin I gained like 30lbs after him. I had postpartum depression and....well....30lbs later, I'm thankfully cured of my postpartum depression...but have this weight to show for it. It SUCKS!!!!! There's no way to tell a new mother that her life will never be her own again. There's no way to prepare them, that after children, your time will basically never be YOUR time. I'm not trying to sound like I don't appreciate my boys, or that I don't love them. I'm not even ungrateful. But life is a learning process and I just didn't know that after having the boys my life never has time for me. LOL!!!! So when it comes to dropping this weight and getting healthier....it makes this journey excruciatingly hard. Because most of my time is about the boys and their needs, and when it's not the boys it's Theo and his needs, it really takes a conscious effort to think about myself. Most people take showering for granted. I'm SOOOO fortunate if I get to shower every day. I haven't showered every single day since....well...probably right before Isaiah was born. LOL! That's not to rat myself out and sound like I'm a disgusting pig who never showers...but the reality of it is that showers for me don't get to be a top priority unless of course I'm showering with the boys. Then that's a shower mostly because the boys need it. I just get to join. hahahaha! So anyways, I've been working my butt off for a couple of weeks now. And REALLY trying hard to focus on eating better. I've done pretty well staying within my calorie intake. But I had a few days when I didn't work out and ate like crap. And the thing was...it wasn't so much that I ate a TON...it's just when I did eat...it was crappy food. But whatever...I allowed myself a cheat day...or two. And my body did need to relax. I did something to my knee while running and before I could get to the Dr I didn't want to make it worse...so I rested. Which at that point was okay cause I'd been working out every day. I only rested like 2 days before going to the Dr. After I talked to the Dr she told me to take Motrin and keep going! Which I was SOOOO excited about. I've mostly been running/speed walking outside. It's so nice for the boys and I to get out of the house. I get to exercise and the boys love the ride. Today I even made Isaiah run the last bit of ways home with me. He did so well. He loved it! The sad thing is....It's hard for me to even keep up with him for a good distance. I mean...sure I can keep up and beat him right away...but I'm so out of shape he could honestly beat me in the end. LOL But that's okay. He loves it and doesn't think of me as a failure. So I don't mind! ;) Anyways...I just needed to vent about my frustrations with this weight loss. I can tell my stomach IS getting flabbier...but it only makes me look more gross. I guess after having kids AND gaining weight....my belly is probably not going to look decent for awhile. By the way...my goal is to look noticeably different at Theo's work Christmas party this year. Last year I was depressed (my anti-depressants hadn't really kicked in) and I looked SOOOO gross. I want to be able to buy a new outfit and look so good at his Christmas party. That's a reasonable goal since it's at the end of this year. And I started working out in January. Though I gained weight in May because a family was staying with us and I didn't get to work out. Anyways, I'm also hoping that by Collin's 1st birthday that I can drop the 35lbs. Then I'll have an even 100lbs to loose. That would be SOOOO nice. But I doubt that's going to happen. That's a little less than 2mo away. I shouldn't be so discouraged. Just gotta keep a chin up and keep reminding myself that I don't get results by doing nothing. After I loose the 35lbs though.....I'm going to get an ear piercing. Then after I loose the 100lbs....I'm getting a new tattoo. Something that's about dedication and hard work. I'll definitely deserve it! At some point I also want to get my belly button re-pierced...but who knows what kinda shape my belly will be in after all the abuse I've put it through. *sigh* Anyways....I guess that's it for now. I just need to vent and get some of my frustrations out. It's just really really REALLY hard. But I AM the one who got myself into this mess and with the support of a loving husband and good friends and God on my side...I really can't loose can I? :)

Don't Let Nervousness Stop Me

So! Today starts a new journey for me! I've joined MyFitnessPal.com Thanks to the suggestion of Ashley McKinney! I'm nervous because it's counting calories. I've never done this for dieting before. But it's really nice because you can just type in what you eat and it tells you how much it is and how much more you have to eat. You can also log in when you exercise and everything. I'm looking forward to it! I can't exercise right now because I'm still recovering from Strep Throat and I haven't been able to breathe well. So I gotta wait a bit longer to incorporate the exercise part. But at least I can eat well meanwhile. I hope the weight falls off faster than planned right now. I have 130lbs to loose. :( That majorly disappoints me that I've gotten that far. But...I did it to myself so there's no one to blame but myself. For exercising I plan on starting this couch to 5k program. Basically it's gets you from not being able to run at all...to running a 5k. My goal is to be able to run with Theo and do family races and stuff. That I think would be healthy and fun for us all! So, that's what's going on in my life. I'm extremely nervous...but hopefully I can do this fairly easily. I hope! :-/