The Beauchamp FamilyYes, we really are this geeky…

Wow, 2012 is quickly ending and today is Christmas Eve already! Above is our holiday card this year (yes, we really are dorks). I was sitting here thinking about this year and all the amazing changes and adventures we have had.

The whole family had an amazing time in Disney over the Summer. I think that will, likely, be the highlight of 2012, for sure. It was also interesting to watch the family change over the past year, we’ve completely changed our eating habits and what we choose to do. We’re all healthier and happier, for sure.

Cassie is now in 4th grade and doing amazing, of course. She carries all As and still has never had to move her clip (I’m seriously going to find out next year if they have a perfect behavior award and if they don’t, I’m making the principal make one up for her LOL). She’s a Daddy’s girl for sure. She can get Tom to do almost anything for her if she asks sweet enough. She has been doing an amazing job with her violin lessons and she loves her computer games and plays Minecraft a lot with her friends. She’s turning into such an amazing young lady right before our eyes. We are so proud of her and know she’s going to do amazing things in 2013.

Jamie is in 6th grade. Yeah. Middle School. He’s actually doing really well, all As and Bs. He is in the band and is loving playing his clarinet. He’s taught himself to play several extra songs on his own and we’re so proud of him. He’s a Momma’s boy and is always ready with a hug and kiss for just about anyone. He’s every bit of a pre-teen, though. I think it’s going to be interesting to see how he evolves over the next few years. Jamie is one of the most empathic people I know, he feels your pain and wants to do whatever he can to make you feel better. I’m constantly amazed by him and how much he cares for his friends and family.

Tom turned the big 4-0 this year. So, he’s an old dude now. He’s still working as a teacher (math interventionist) and loving it. It took him a little longer to figure out what he wanted to do when he grew up, but he’s definitely found the right path. He’s happier than he’s ever been and I’m proud to call him my hubby. (But seriously, you could not pay me enough to work with a room full of elementary – or any – children, I would go insane). He still loves to cook and is the comic relief for Cassie and I (who are known to take things too serious sometimes).

For me, this year has been kind of a whirlwind. The emergency neck fusion surgery really messed up my life for a few months, recovery kind of sucked. I, of course, reached my goal weight – losing 200 pounds – and decided to lose a little more. I figure I’ll know when I’m done. I’m still running OffAssist and still trucking along very well. I started playing violin, myself, and am having a great time learning – and spending time with Cassie (who is helping to teach me along with our instructor).

So, 2012 is nearly gone and onward we go…

Happy Holidays!

Tom and I are smart asses. It’s really no surprise we’re raising two smart asses, eh?

I have a morning routine. I get up, get dressed and go into Jamie’s room to put my socks on (his room is always snuggly warm and I can coax him to actually get up). Cassie sometimes comes in and gives me a hug and we talk about the day, etc.

So, this morning, I’m sitting on Jamie’s bed, putting on my socks and in walks Cassie. She lays down across my lap (cuz I have a lap now) and snuggles up against my neck and hugs me. She was being all sweet until she sits up, looks at me, and says, “Mom, you’re not as comfortable to snuggle because your bones stick me”. I asked where and she said “on your neck.” LOL. Stinker. I pointed out they are called collar bones and she had them too.

A few minutes later, Jamie, decides that we should open Christmas presents early this year… because the world is ending on 12/21 anyway. Too bad I told him I already had a plan for that situation. We’re just going to return all the gifts and go to Vegas on the 20th. We’ll leave them home alone. Cops will be too busy with all that Mayan stuff anyway.

Photos: Cassie getting her award for participating in the robotics competition and Jamie after his very first holiday band concert. The kids, they are growing up.

First, a really quick update on Cassie’s sleep… she slept ALL night last night. My friend gave me samples of some essential oils. I honestly have never seen another human being look SO tired in my entire life. Whether it was just down right completely exhaustion or the oils, I don’t know, but she says the oils helped so I’m going to buy a truckload of them if it continues to help. It felt SO good to check on her at 10:30 and see her sleeping like the little angel (coughcough) that she is.

I did it! The scale finally has a number 1 in front of it. This means that since my VSG surgery journey and having surgery 14 months and 1 day ago, I’ve lost over 175 pounds (Disclaimer: 20 of those were lost on the crazy pre-op diet you have to do, but I count it ALL darn it!). That’s just amazing to me. Even still! I STILL was getting on the scale amazed that it started with a number 2, a number 1 is just beyond my ability to comprehend. Getting under 200 has been one of those “yeah right” goals of mine. When I started this process at 375, my surgeon gave me the goal of 250. I will admit that somewhere deep down I never thought I’d actually hit that number. He asked me for my own personal goal and I threw out 175. That would mean a loss of 200 pounds and I liked the sound of that number. It almost feels like I can reach that number though. My next mini goal is 186.5. That will mean I’ve lost half my body weight and will also put me into the “overweight” category. According to the BMI charts (which I think are antiquated) my upper normal range is 155. I’m not making ANY goal decisions until I hit 175 though because I want to see what that looks and feels like.

So, that’s where I am. No tears today, I thought for sure I’d totally break down, but I’ve just been happy and smiling because I worked hard for this. Like I’ve said on this blog before, don’t EVER think this is the “easy way out” for anyone that has weight loss surgery. I’ve been lucky, no one has ever said that to me, but I am here to tell you that there is NOTHING easy about this. It really is just a tool to help you along. I did all the work. I took the time to really learn about food and nutrition. I worked my butt off at the gym. I choose to say no to sugar and carbs unless I’ve planned for them in my day. I went through all the mental issues that this whole thing brings about. *I* did that. Like I said, no one has said a single negative thing to me, but if you ever see someone that has done this, know that they are working harder than they have ever worked in their lives. Congratulate them, their achievement is no less important than someone that did it without surgery. Trust me. Obesity is a lifelong disease, I can still gain weight back. The real fight comes after I reach goal. Keeping it off. Part of me thinks that’s why I went more public with my surgery. It makes me be accountable.

I also shared a photo 75 pounds ago of me behind the steering wheel of the van. My stomach used to still graze it when it was all the way back. Today, I sit in the same space as my husband and there’s a LOT of room when I move the seat all the way back. Cassie can slide across my lap when we sit in restaurant booths (which I always avoided because I didn’t fit at all before). So, I’ll share another steering wheel photo because driving is the one thing that really does remind me of all the work I’ve put in. It’s kind of amazing even now (and look how freaking skinny my legs look! LOL!)

I am also taking time out to attend a conference that is NOT business related (stop gasping). I’m attending the Obesity Action Coalition’s (OAC) conference in late October in Dallas. There looks like there will be some really good speakers, and it really is a chance for me to celebrate myself. I do so few things that really are just for me that I’m excited to do this with a couple of friends.

One of the things that they teach the kids in school is about needs vs wants. For instance, food is a need and a video game is a want. This is a big unit that they work on in 1st or 2nd grade. Cassie has been having MAJOR sleeping issues for the past month. We broke down yesterday and took her to the doctor who gave me about 30 ideas, 28 of which I had already tried. But we decided to go back to basics. One bottle of water with her, white noise machine is on, darkened room, chapstick on once. Usually none of this is an issue, but for some reason last night it was. I think she was anxious because the doctor ordered a blood draw (more on that in a minute).

Anyway, so the screaming started. “I’m not tired. I can’t sleep. It’s not fair. No one likes me. You’re mean. I need more water. I’m just thirsty. I just want more water….”

“The school says that water is a need and not a want!!! You’re mean and it’s not fair!!!!!”

Yeah. We cracked up. I ended up going in there and telling her to knock it off, it wasn’t fair to the rest of the house and I didn’t want to hear another word or she was grounded. She could read or whatever she wanted, just no screens. So, this morning all 3 of us had elaborately drawn apology letters. Sigh. No idea how long she was awake, but she apparently had time for that – and she said she woke up at 4 and drank more water.

So, we got up early this morning and headed to the place for the blood draw. She actually was a real trooper, I thought it was going to be a HUGE problem, but she held up really well. I was proud of her. Usually if someone gives her a shot or anything else, I have to dig her out of the dark corner of the examining table or it takes 3 or 4 of us to hold her down. She managed to sit on my lap, sob quietly, and it was over in like 45 seconds. Who knows if the blood draw will actually show anything. I don’t know if this is a rut we can’t get out of or what is going on, but I’m completely and utterly exhausted.

I’m sure everyone will respond again with 900 different ideas. Trust me, we have tried just about everything under the sun (my friend is getting samples of essential oils to me today so we can try that – LOL). We don’t think she’s worried about anything in particular. We can’t pin anything down. So, onward we go until we figure it out or I go insane from lack of sleep myself.

This is the letter she wrote me at who knows what time last night. It says

“To: Mommy, From: Cassie”
“Sorry for last night! I made these in my time cuz you said no screen so I wrote alpgies. I am veyr sorry about last night. I am very so please accept my alploze. PS I am using my best handwriting”

Sigh.

I’m obviously near the end of my rope here.

Finally getting around to sorting through all the photos from our Disney vacation. In June, we loaded up the van, hit the road and spent 8 days in Florida and then drove up for a very quick visit with my family in Charleston, SC. I set up everyone’s phone to automatically upload photos to a dropbox and bought the somewhat overpriced Disney Photopass and took a lot of photos. There’s nearly 600 of them and you can see them on my Flickr page. Enjoy. I’ll share a few of my faves below…

It was QUITE the vacation. I’m SO glad we went through a Disney travel agent. She was free and she was available to me via text or phone. She went through things with me, answered my 900 questions and helped with the general planning. Even better, she watched out for discounts and ended up saving us around $500 by rebooking our vacation when the prices came down. It was pretty awesome. So I will give a huge shout out to Amanda. Email her if you’re planning a trip. I wouldn’t have been able to do this and not worry hardly at all without her. Her email is amandag@mei-travel.com. Trust me.

One of our favorite things was the Ohana character breakfast. Both of my kids are huge Stitch fans (especially Cassie). Getting to meet Stitch was truly a highlight. The food was wonderful and the kids were made to feel like royalty. Tom and I were able to relax, enjoy. I do wish they had more time with the characters. There was just enough time for them to walk by, pose for a photo and autograph for us. Not bad, but it did feel rushed at times. We did the photo package there as well and Cassie, of course, brought her stuffed Stitch (which she also carried all over the parks). They were so cute and made sure her stuffy got a lei along with the rest of us. That huge smile says it all!

Our favorite ride was the Peter Pan ride as a family. They did an amazing job with it. Really, all of the rides are total events. We also really enjoyed Soarin’ (which we did twice). I’m glad we did 8 days. We were able to do Magic Kingdom and Epcot for two days each and took a day off for a Water Park.

The really bad part was the quick service food. It left a lot to be desired. Very fast-food type and really not all that good, with a few exceptions. We had table service for dinners and that was much better and the food was really good quality. I had an amazing soup at Marrakesh, a Moroccan place in Epcot, but the rest of my party said that it was pretty bland, otherwise. We absolutely loved T-Rex in Downtown Disney, the food was really great and the atmosphere was amazing. We ate in the ice cave and it was really awesome. I have several food allergies and each time, one of the chefs came out to talk to me about them and made sure that what I ate was safe for me.

One of the things that Disney excels at is their set up for kids with ADHD and anxiety disorders. Jamie has a really tough time in crowds and we knew this vacation was going to be a challenge. I knew they would make accommodations, but I was floored by how far out of their way they will go to make sure the kids have a great time. We did several things right (and a few things wrong), but overall, it was amazing. I was expecting them to just save our place in the massive lines and put us somewhere quieter but… We brought a doctor’s note and they gave us a pass that allowed us to basically walk to the fast pass lines. It meant we didn’t have to get a fast pass and then try to get him back through the crowd again just so he could go on a ride. It really didn’t save us much time over anyone else being there because we also found we had to get him out of the park at least once per day and back to the hotel. The buses take a while so it was a good chance for him to decompress. We found the lunch food at the hotel to be tolerable, so we would eat there, go cool off in the room and then head back to the park in the late afternoon. We only had a few major freak outs with him (one was towards the end of the big fireworks in Magic Kingdom. I really wish I had asked about a quieter place for him because I think that ruined that experience for him a bit).

My biggest piece of advice for people heading to Disney is to come with a plan, but be prepared to toss it completely out of the window if needed. We tried to stick to our Touring Plan, but ended up ditching it except for the list of rides we wanted to try to hit. We just weren’t able to stick to a timetable with the other challenges we had. Also, bring blister bandages. My sister ended up with huge blisters  and I wish we had them in hand instead of having to go out searching for some the second evening.

There are also a lot of hotels. If we go back, and I hit the lottery, I would probably want to stay somewhere on the tram line. We opted to stay in a family suite at a value resort which was phenomenal though. We had a bedroom, a living area, a small kitchen and TWO BATHROOMS. With five people, it made it so much easier to get everyone showered and in bed at night.

Tom really wants to go back… like now. While I had a truly amazing time, it’s really expensive. We did the Disney meal plan and while I was reluctant about it at first, I’m glad we did. We didn’t think about food or cost or anything like that, we just did whatever we wanted. We ended up with plenty of leftover snack credits at the end of the trip and bought a bunch of Mickey ear rice crispy treats. The whole trip was just crazy expensive. Plus, I’ll be honest… eight days of the mouse and the happy happy joy joy will make just about anyone insane. Add that to the kids being afraid of certain rides and everyone getting hot and crabby and well… he’s been outvoted in favor of a relaxing beach vacation next year! *laughing*

Seriously… it’s the vacation everyone has to take. My kids were 9 and 11 and it really was the perfect age. Oh! That reminds me, careful if you do do the meal plan. Cassie was 9 so she would have had to eat from the children’s menu if we hadn’t have made sure to tell our planner to tell them she was 10. She doesn’t eat “kid menu” food so it was nice for her to also just eat anything she wanted. The portions are HUGE though, so we shared most of the time. We also found that you might want to order one vegetarian meal so that you got some good veggies for the table as well.

The crowds were light in some parks and heavy in others when we were there, although half of the US wasn’t even out of school yet. That whole “just go with it” is super important here. Taking that day off for a beach park day was also perfect. We did the park hopper and while we could have done without it, it was nice to be able to run into another park to check out a show or something if we wanted. We caught almost all of the nighttime light/firework shows and I’m really glad that we did. They were really awesome.

That’s it… we did end up riding most of the rides, we didn’t miss much and we’ll probably go back in a few years… but next year… lazy beach vacation

It’s Spring Break around here. Which means the teacher husband, the work at home mom and the two Elementary kids are ALL home ALL the time. Add in a technological melt down at the mom’s office and it’s pretty crazy. The kids are basically given free reign as long as they stay out of the way and the parents are surviving on humor and coffee.

There’s a friend over, which means they all want to sleep in the same room. There’s been a LOT of giggling this week as the kids float around with sleepovers and playdates and whatever else there is going on. It’s midnight and I hear an argument between Jamie and Cassie erupt. One of those that is probably minor but loud. The friend (J) is not involved, but is cowering on the bed like “seriously, people, I’m an only child, WHAT is the deal?” I walk in, where they both try to tell me the various transgressions…

Me: “Wait, I don’t care. Jamie, apologize to Cassie.”
Jamie: “Sorry, Cassie.”
Me: “Cassie, apologize to Jamie.”
Cassie: “I didn’t do anything!”
Me: “….” (the look)
Cassie: “Sorry, Jamie” (only a little grudgingly)
Me: “Now, Cassie apologize to J”
Cassie: “I didn’t do anything to her.”
Me: “I said…”
Cassie: “Fine, whatever. Sorry, J”
Me: “Jamie… apologize to J”
Jamie: “I’m sorry, J, for fighting with Cassie over nothing while you were here.”
Me: “Oh, that was a good one.”
Jamie: “Yeah, I know” (fist bump)
Me: “Cassie, apologize to me, please.”
Casssie: “But I…”….. “okay, sorry!!!”
Me: *sigh* “Jamie…”
Jamie: “Yeah, mom, I’m really sorry that we were arguing and interrupted your work and you had to come in here to do this.”
Me: “Oh crap… you are getting good at this.”
Tom: *laughing nearly hysterically*
Me: “Yeah, we have a politician on our hands here”

So those that know my girl, Cassie, know that she’s one of the sweetest and most conscientious kids out there (oh and she can totally suck up as needed too).

She came home last week with this (notice her answer to #25):

I’m not sure if I’m more amused by the answer she gave or the fact that her teacher gave her full credit. That rocks.

Then, I must wonder… did she do this because she didn’t know the answer and wanted to suck up enough so maybe the teacher WOULD give her full credit? Not that I think she’d do that (no, not that sweet innocent little angel of a girl)…

Anyway… enjoy! I laughed and made her cry. I wasn’t laughing at her answer (well, I kinda was… that mom of the year award continues to elude me!)

The kids come stalking into the kitchen just now, both with super determined looks on their faces.

Oh boy. This will be fun.

Cassie: “Jamie bonked me on the head for no reason.”

Jamie: “I bonked you on the head for a reason, you weren’t listening!”

I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing…

At least he didn’t deny it, right?

Okay, so the title was to get your attention…

Cassie hasn’t really asked about sex or anything like that and we decided it was time (more on that in a minute) to fill her in a little bit before the kids at school told her god-knows-what. After her shower, I sat down with her in my bedroom and asked her if she had ever heard the word “sex” before. She said yes and I asked her if she knew what it meant. She proudly told me “It means love.” Awwwww… ya know, I think that’s the most apt description I’ve ever heard.

So, anyway, the big reason I brought it up to her is because she hadn’t asked and I knew we needed to have that talk soon. But also because Tom is scheduled to have a vasectomy this week. Can I just say, “Yay!” Our kids are 8 and 10. We’ve been married for 18 years. Everyone in this house can wipe their own butts and buckle their own seat belts. We’re done with the baby-making part of our lives and I’m looking forward to not having to deal with any accidents, quite frankly.

So, yeah, we haven’t told the kids about that yet, but I figured it would be easier to explain why Dad has an ice pack on his crotch later if I addressed it now.

One more funny… when the doctor asked if Tom was doing this for himself or his wife or what the deal was, Tom said that he was doing it for “us”.  I think that’s probably the most apt description I’ve heard too.

Snippy-Snip, baby!

PS – before anyone can tell me I’m oversharing more than I should, I asked permission before posting this news

Late photo of Cassie and her cake on her birthday…

I’ve been basically hibernating since my last post. Tax season was a bit brutal to me this year. Crazy, but should hopefully slack off once I catch up – if I ever do catch up!

The kids are doing fabulous. Jamie has really come out of his shell this year, he’s managed to drop probably 20 pounds and his grades are AMAZING. I’m so proud of him. If I could get him to get up in the morning without threatening him with bodily harm, then life would be REALLY fabulous. Cassie is puttering right now along… she loves school and loves learning and always has a smile and a hug ready for nearly everyone.

Tom got notice that due to the budget cuts, his position will be cut after this year. So yeah, he’ll have worked five months. Very sad, but we have hope that he will be rehired. He honestly loves teaching and has loved the past four months. Funny, he finally finds what he’s supposed to be doing in life and now this, but we have always believed that things happen how they are supposed to so I have faith that this is just a bump in the road. (Yes, I think he’s crazy… there’s so many of them – no way – not happening – I’d rather have bamboo shoved under my nails). But I must say that he’s been so genuinely happy that I really do hope he’s able to continue next year. The good news is that he was hired, so he’s in the rehire pool. Like I told him, if he wasn’t, he’d be in a bad position. So, see? Not all bad.

I’m doing well, getting ready for a few upcoming trips and various things going on. Excited, but already exhausted. At least I have a couple of weeks to recover before we go… it’s going to be fun! First stop is Portland, then to Dallas this Summer and then Vegas this Fall. Never been to Portland or Vegas so I’m super excited.

Not much else going on, honestly… just going day by day… we did get the kids new bikes. I know it’s sad, but our kids don’t know how to ride. They had bikes with training wheels, but Jamie took a nasty fall when he was 5 or 6 and refused to get back on it. We’re kind of making him get one because I know he’ll like it. Cassie, of course, is all over it and trying her hardest to learn. She can go if I give her a good shove, she just can’t start or turn around yet very well. It’s coming along though!

And now a sweet story (and to show you that either Tom is the sweetest husband ever or he has everyone snowed)… I texted him a few weeks ago while he was at the grocery store and asked him to bring me some jelly beans. I was going to be up most of the night and I needed something to chew on. He came home with them. No problem right? He told later that he had to go back in because he was packing the car. Awww… sweet right? Well, he went back through the line and the lady said something and he said “Oh, my wife wanted jelly beans so I came back in”. She asked when I was due (umm. no.) and he said, “Oh, she’s not pregnant, she just asked and I came back in”. She was surprised and asked something to which he replied, “Yeah, I just can’t resist a pretty face.”

Snowed or sweet? Hmmm… it’s been 18 years and I’m still not sure…