EIGHT MONTHS OLD!!

    I can't believe it but as of yesterday, the littlest Johnston turned 8 months old. Little Lucas is full of himself these days and about to drive his Mama crazy. He is by far the bravest out of my three and isn't scared to try anything; eating anything and everything he finds, climbing down our stairs, rolling off the couch etc. Praise the Lord we've been keeping such close eyes on him or I'd hate to think about the trouble he'd get himself into, lol. He has already tried walking on his own, although fell after 2 steps and has been scared to try again; I'm secretly thankful because I am just not ready to have another toddler in the house yet. It's amazing to me the amount of baby proofing I have to do again...seems like yesterday we were going through our checklist of things to keep out of Haleigh's grasp. :-) I couldn't ask God for a sweeter baby, though. Luca Bear is always smiling unless he is hungry and raises everyone's spirits with just one look. Poor thing is always the victim of cheek pinching, though, as he was blessed with his Mama's chubby face, haha. After vacation, we will begin planning his first birthday party in which I will probably cry like a baby.

Diagnosis...

    What an absolutely crazy night we had, lol. Apparently, the full moon sent my kids into super hyper mode, as none of them wanted to go to sleep. Noah was the first out but only after screaming (and I mean top of the lungs belting) for half an hour. Hales kept sneaking out of her room and would yell and cry if we closed it (thus waking up Lucas). Needless to say, it was a fairly difficult night but Hubby and I managed to giggle about it, Praise the Lord!! And the kiddos were all asleep by a little after 11pm so, not TOO bad.
     Last week was rough for me, emotionally. Under the advice of my OB/GYN I tapered off my Zoloft around two and a half months ago. Things went well for the first couple of weeks until about a week before my period. And then, it was like a switch flipped and I was just not myself. Anger like I've never felt before surged through me and I couldn't stop crying. The kids just kept saying "I'm sorry you're sad Mommy" which really broke my heart. I thought it still might have something to do with pregnancy related hormones so I chose not to call my doctor, and it ended up lasting until about the 3rd day of my cycle (so a week total). Everything went pretty well, up until early last week, yet again, about a week before my period. And then the anger, severe mood swings, crying etc. started back up, except way worse than last month. I talked with Caleb and told him I knew something wasn't right. We have fought more in the last couple of months than we ever have in our entire relationship, so that should have been a red flag. It was just so hard to think when all of this was going on with my body. Anyways, after a long chat with Hubby, I decided to set up an appointment with my OB. After a series of tests, I was diagnosed with PMDD. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a severe form of PMS, basically. If you want to read more about it, here is the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premenstrual_dysphoric_disorder
     I was also diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, which apparently is closely linked to people who suffer from PMDD. Anyways, that's basically that the seasons effect my moods, which I guess I've noticed but always thought was normal. Like, during the winter I always feel really bored and down, but it's because I have cabin fever. With three little ones, it's impossible to go outdoors too often because at such young ages, one of them is bound to get sick. So yeah, last week was a little rough for me.
     Now I'm left with how to deal with this news. At first, I was really upset about having to go back on my meds (I'm back on the Zoloft for now) and just felt guilty, like I was letting my family down. I HATE being dependent on any medication but after a phone call to my best friend, she reassured me that I was doing the right thing. And, after a week of finally feeling stable again, Caleb and I are back to getting along. He has been so supportive and kind throughout all of this. I know it was putting my family through hell and I am so thankful I made the decision to go ahead and speak with my doctor. I have a follow up appointment in July to discuss things further so please be praying that the visit will go well.
     I am so thankful that Sunday we will be leaving for our vacation. After everything that's been going on, not just with me, but other issues, too, I can't wait to lay back on the sand and soak up some sun. Just being able to spend uninterrupted time with my family is awesome...and be on the lookout for a TON of pictures when we get back. :-)  Hope each of you is having a wonderful, blessed Monday.

TRUTH!!

A Girl's Life

Just Bloggin'

     Currently enjoying some peace and quiet while the kiddos are napping. We are having some crazy weather today complete with wind, hard rain, and power outages. I just saw on the news that Roanoke College closed for the day due to down power lines and trees, which is crazy, because for those of you that know anything about RC...they NEVER close. I'm just praying this storm is finished when it's time for my Hubby to head home. Yesterday he was over an hour late due to a bad accident on the interstate which he missed by like five minutes; if it hadn't been for him forgetting something and having to run back into the office, I don't even want to think about what may have happened. *sighs*  Praising God for looking out for my family.

     I'm really looking forward to this upcoming weekend because I'm taking Hubby out for Father's Day on Saturday to celebrate FOUR YEARS of being a Daddy (and yes, we count parenthood beginning at conception). I am so thankful that our babies are blessed to have Caleb as their Dad because he truly rocks at this whole parenting thing. We will be having lunch and then I'm letting him pick which movie he wants to see, because let's face it...going to the movies is a luxury these days. :-)  Then, on Sunday, we are getting together with family after church for hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill...YUMMY! 

     Guess I'm off of here for now. I'm trying to come up with a good recipe for dinner but as tomorrow is grocery day, we are pretty much down to nothing. Gonna use my mad Mama skills to whip up something delish from our bare cupboards! Hope everyone has a great rest of their day!! Blessings to each of you.

A.C.E. 4 Weeks

Size 10 pants (loose) 158 lbs

   I lost no weight this week but did lose more inches. I started out four weeks ago wearing a size 12 pants, super tight, and now am wearing a size 10, which are loose!! :-)  Here is my first day of ACE photo compared to today and I can definitely tell I've dropped in weight and size!!

Size 12 pants (tight) 165.4 lbs

Business Trips, and Ranting, and Whining..OH NO!

     Okay...I'm going to rant for a second. I won't give specific details but I WILL say this...just because your style of parenting differs from mine, does not make me a bad mother. Nor does it mean that my child is going to turn out bad. I understand that your parenting techniques are the complete opposite of how my husband and I are choosing to bring up our kids and that's okay; I totally accept that. BUT, it is not acceptable for you to stalk my Facebook page and groups I'm active in, in order to rudely comment on advice I'm trying to give to other Moms. What works for my babies, may not necessarily work for yours, but don't put down the way I raise my little ones. Annnnnnndddddd, rant over. :-)
     Now, on to the more positive part of my day. Hubby has been going on a ton of business trips for the past three weeks which has just not been fun. Yesterday morning he left for his Richmond trip and my Mom came over to hang out for a while. I think she realized how drained I was because she said Noah and Haleigh would be spending the night with Nana (Lucas would have went too, but he is going through a phase where he won't sleep anywhere except for his crib...like, ever). So, yesterday evening through early this afternoon it was just me and Lucabear. I can't begin to describe my emotions. I was so relieved to FINALLY have a break from the terrible twos and threes and some time just for myself. I was almost overwhelmed at having so much quiet, especially after Lucas went to bed. I got in a full eight hours of sleep last night and woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go. Glad to have my babies back home but so thankful to my parents for the awesome break.
     Off of here now to do some laundry and tidy up a bit before Hubby gets back home.
   

A.C.E. Update

   Lost another 2 lbs this week. I'm feeling great and loving that I've dropped another pants size. :-)  Will update with a new picture as soon as I have the opportunity. Hubby has been out of town for a couple days now and I've been beyond busy. Have a blessed day!!

First Day: 165 lbs

06/06/13: 158 lbs

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

     Bordering on insanity at the moment and overwhelmed emotionally. Woke up in a spectacular mood, full of energy and ready to tackle the day and all of life's problems. Apparently I was a bit overconfident because the kids have fought like crazy ALL DAY and cried like it was going out of style. I'm spent...totally and it's only noon. I lost my temper and yelled which is something I NEVER do and then of course have felt like the world's worst Mommy. *sighs* And on top of everything else, Hubby is leaving for another business trip early tomorrow morning and won't be back until late Wednesday night. Annnnnd, he has another overnight coming up next week, as well. I'm trying to remain positive as this will net us lots of extra moolah for our vacation coming up at the end of the month and I'm trying to stay focused on the fact that he will have a total of 10 days off before having to go back to work. :-)
     On a positive note, I have continued to lose weight this past week, although not as significantly as last week. I will update my week 2 A.C.E. results Wednesday or Thursday as long as I get a chance. I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. Thanks for "listening" to me vent a bit...writing definitely helps with my frustrations.