I'm giving myself a little pat on the back tonight because I actually got my face washed and teeth brushed before hitting the sack. The family has tomorrow off, so I am taking this rare opportunity to stay up late tonight and window shop the Internet, blog, and Google mysterious health symptoms (a favorite pastime of mine). 
Hayden- February 8th was Hayden's birthday.  He turned nine years old.  Sometimes it seems like he was just born, while other times it seems like it was ages ago.  One thing is certain, it is hard to imagine that there was ever a time when Matt and I were just Matt and Katy.  It seems like it was Matt, Katy, and Hayden from the get go. Hayden finished up the Harry Potter series and has moved on to the Eragon series.  When he finished the last Harry Potter, he wrote a secret message on the inside cover of the book.  I won't write what it said, but I will tell you it made me cry. 
Josie- My Jo is a witty little diva.  She gets things.  I don't know if it is because she watches too much television, but sometimes she just says things that make me go "What?  Where did that come from?"  The other day she said, "I just don't get it.  Why are we here?  Why was all of this made? Like the universe and stuff?"  I can't remember what I told her.  All I know is I was flabbergasted that my six year old was contemplating the meaning of life. 
Lucas- He has been giving us hell the past few months, but I will say, last week was better.  I think the problem is that he has too much energy.  If he was a dog, he would be a Jack Russell Terrier.  Some days when we get home from school, he doesn't stop bouncing, climbing, and/or running until he goes to sleep.  Thank goodness he is super cute and hysterically funny, otherwise he might be chained up in the back yard.
Matt-   The kitchen has turned into a brewery.  Matt has become slightly obsessed with brewing beer.  So much so that he went to the dump the other day in search of bottles.  He found a few pop top bottles that he used for bottling.  His quest for pop top bottles helped me to generate a catchy name for his brewery- "Dumpster Bottle Brewery".  I like it:)
Me- I bought a resistance band a week ago and laughed at the warning on the package.  It said to wear eye protection when using the band.  I didn't wear eye protection and now my children are forever scarred by the filth that flew out of their mother's mouth when she got sucker punched in the eyes by a giant rubber band.  Once the throbbing on the backsides of my eyeballs subsided, I was relieved to find that my vision was still intact.  I have continued to use the band, with caution of course, and I have to admit that I like it.  In fact, I might dare to say that I like it a lot.

I'm chubby and I've been eating like a chubby person for the past thirty years.  I am actually pretty lucky that I'm not obese.  But I don't feel lucky.  I feel pissed.  Pissed that I let myself get this big.  Pissed that I feel tired all the time.  Pissed that my reflection is not enough motivation to make me not want to shove a fist full of french fries into my pie hole.  I feel confident that I can lose the weight, but what I'm not confident about is whether or not I can keep it off.  That is why I have waited so long to give it a real try.  What is that saying?  'Tis better to have loved and lost, Than never to have loved at all.   I think that saying applies to weight loss as well.  'Tis better to have lost weight and gained it back, than to never have lost weight at all.  Food is not the enemy.  My addiction to food is.  If I am sad, a cheeseburger can make me happy.  If I am happy, a cheeseburger can make me happier.  I can't let myself fear the future.  Maybe I will lose thirty pounds and maybe I will gain fifty back. Or maybe I won't gain it back.  Is it really worth worrying about?  No.  It's just a sorry excuse for not wanting to give up Doritos, and man do I love Doritos:)

This first week of dieting has been more about what I am not putting into my mouth than what I am putting into my mouth.  I am proud to say that I did not touch the basket of candy bars that I give out for prizes in my classroom.  I did not eat school lunch- not even the tater tots.  I did not drink Matt's homemade brewed beer, but I did taste it.  I did not put mayo on my turkey sandwich.  I did not eat any of the McDonald's french fries that I bought for the kids.  But I wasn't perfect.  Yesterday was Hayden's birthday party and I do confess to eating two mini cupcakes.  I struggled all week to drink water.  Minus the water I drank when taking my daily meds, I didn't really drink any.  This week I will do better.  Part of my game plan is to move more.  That didn't happen this week.  I'm thinking about buying The Biggest Loser for the Xbox.  Hayden got Kinect for the Xbox yesterday, so I am excited to give it a try.  For now, I'm going to keep on keeping on.