40 days without french fries...

I did it!

Exactly 40 days ago I started my journey of 40 days without french fries and am proud to say "I actually did it!!!".

So, it's been a mostly private journey...few knew about the no fries plan. Just a few more knew I joined weight watchers the same night I gave up fries. 40 days into weight watchers and I'm happy to say I've lost 15 pounds (and am hoping to not gain any over the next couple days-boo thanksgiving feast-boo!!!).

I still have a significant way to go but am shocked that 5 weeks can make such a difference.

To explain why I went 40 days without my beloved fries: I knew I needed to make some major changes and french fires, specifically McDonald's french fries are soooo addictive.

I decided if Jesus could go through the desert without food for 40 days, I certainly could manage the "pain" of no french fries for the same time period.

It was hard-I had ample opportunity to cheat, sneak, and binge but I said no to those deceptive little fries and I'm so glad I did it.

Would you be willing to give up anything for 40 days to significantly impact your health and honor God?

PS Thanks to my friend Kara, hubby and sis Heath for their support during these challenging 40 days...til' death do us part;-)

Owen's turn...

I keep forgetting to post this since I've known about it for less than a week, but Owen is having surgery tomorrow morning at 9:45am. He is having his tonsils and adenoids removed and his ear tubes taken out (because they aren't in place properly now). Please pray for the little guy as this will be his 4th surgery in less than 3 years! Plus, it's just hard on kiddos to be in pain and not understand. I'll post updates as I have them;-)

Happy Birthday TJ...the BIG 1-0!!!!

Wow! I can't believe it has been TEN amazing years with you blessing our lives..

Our precious 1st born son. We have seen sooo many amazing and blessed firsts with you TJ! We are so proud of you, our awesome 4th grade boy!

My how you've grown-when you FINALLY arrived into this world (some very painstaking 5 days overdue and via induced labor) you weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces. I carried you WEEKS longer than any of your siblings and you were by far the biggest baby-you were so big I almost needed a c-section to deliver you, but my amazingly skilled Doctor (Dr. Kevin Miller who is dearly missed in the Lafayette area since his move) was able to get you out with a vacuum assisted delivery and you had quite the crooked head;-) Thankfully, it's rounded out nowadays;-) Now you are almost as tall as mommy and your feet are almost as big as mine too! I wonder if you will be taller than your dad someday soon?

You were a very content and sweet baby. Everyone always commented about how cute you were...like alot. You were sooo smart early on. You saw the world in the most amazing light. At the ripe age of two you picked up every speck of "tash" in sight and you could read tons of words (thanks to your daddy's hard work teaching you how to read).

You've come a long way since those early years...just the other day you reported to your father and I that you have decided what you want to be when you grow up- a police officer. That's a long way from your previous reported future aspirations of working as the "boss in construction".




You have claimed Jesus as your Lord and Savior since you were just 4 years old and you led your brother Jake to the Lord just last year. You have infectious laughter and a big tooth"less" smile. You love many sports and creative projects and destroying and rebuilding things. You love catching bugs and frogs and getting dirty and you really love FISHING...oh how that's an understatement. I think you'd move to Wisconsin with your Grandpa Andy and Uncle Andrew if we'd let you because of your shared love of outdoor fun.

I could go on all day bragging about you and how special you are to us...

We hope you have a very special 10th birthday and always remember how much we love you-even more with each passing day but unimaginably not as much as you Father God loves you!

Three years old!

You need a haircut.

You are exclaiming at this very moment "MOM! I need a tup-take!"

I ignore you in order to type this special blog post. You change your tone to a sweet needy voice, love on "Diffin" and say you want to "tuddle with me".

You are needy beyond measure...

...AND I simply would not want it ANY other way!

3 years ago today, when I woke up in a hospital bed, only 32 weeks and 3 days pregnant with you, I wasn't sure this day would ever come-at least not this side of Heaven.

Boy am I glad doctors can be wrong and that the Good Lord had other plans for you.

At 2 pounds 13 ounces, 14 1/2 inches long, you came into this world "healthy" and never even needed breathing support. You simply needed to remain in the special care nursery until you could eat well on your own and maintain your own temperature.




After 26 days in the NICU, you came home to us at 3 pounds 9 ounces. You've been growing steadily (though slowly) since then.

Now at 3, you can do EVERYTHING your peers can do and then some. You dance and sing like no other 3 year old I've seen (especially not in our not-so musically talented family;-). You run, jump, and play like a wild man! You love the neighbor kids and everyone loves you.

You weigh in at 23 pounds and are 34 inches long. So, you may be the weight of an average 13 month old and the height of an average 18 month old but you sure have a big personality to make up for your smaller size. You wear size 4 shoes (very tiny feet mister!) and 2T clothes swim on you but you don't know it and probably wouldn't care if you did. You have figured out ways to get to what you want and can climb like a champ. Step-stools are your friend and you know no other way. Medically, we are not pursuing any other treatment nor answers regarding your size-you are perfect the way you are!

You love your brothers and they all love you. You bug them sometimes, but in the end, you have a sweet brotherly love with each of your siblings.

You have both super sweet and stinkin' scary sides to you. You must get that from Daddy;-). We were walking through a store today and you were singing your ABC's at the top of your lungs...amazing.

Now, you aren't quite potty trained but you could be if you weren't so stinkin' stubborn! We have a new tactic that we are working on to get you in big boy undies once and for all. You sleep in your big boy bed and can dress yourself from head to toe. You are just finally able to pedal your tricycle that you got for Christmas but you didn't care when you couldn't reach the pedals-you just pushed along on the ground at the speed of light.

You are so excited about your birthday party later today...Chuck-E-Cheese's here we come! Woot-woot!

I feel so blessed that God chose me and your Daddy and brothers to be your family! I pray that we get to see you grow up and that someday there is a special girl that God is "growing up" for you even now to be your wife...oh the patience she'll need;-).

We love you Owen and are so happy to spend this special day-your 3rd birthday with you! Happy Birthday special boy!

Jake's surgery:

Tomorrow Jake is having surgery. It's become more and more apparent that his poor hygiene practices have left him needing radical dental work:




Ok, ok...just kidding-well, only about the poor hygiene and radical dental work part. He really has a beautiful smile!



And, it shouldn't be affected (at least not for long) by tomorrow's surgery. Tomorrow Jake is having his tonsils and adenoids removed due to sleep apnea. His tonsils are ginormous and he sleep walks and snores and such so we are hoping the surgery improves his sleep habits which should in turn improve his daily life.

I feel at peace about the surgery as his surgeon is very nice and gave us a couple options regarding the surgery. It will be done in the surgery center close to our home and Jake should be recovering at home later the same day. But, with all that being said, I have normal mommy worries and will be going it alone in the morning since the H1N1 flu has caused Clarian to restrict those who accompany patients (very understandably). My sister was going to go with me but since they explained these new precautions, just me and Jake will be trekking in for the surgery.

He's supposed to be out of school for a week and avoid activity for 2 weeks...hmmm-that'll be interesting. It looks like it'll be a good few days of red box and cartoon network for the Valiant household.

Please pray for the surgery and for Jake's recovery (and for my sanity;-).

Happy 6 months old today Griffin!!!

What a big boy you are now!

Today you had your first EVER solid foods-rice cereal and bananas...yum!



You seemed to like them and kept moving closer to the spoon but you shuddered a couple times at the banana taste. It was super cute to watch you experience this milestone!




You are getting stronger and closer to rolling over and sitting alone.



No sign of any teeth yet (except tons of drool and incessant gnawing at your hands;-).


You are sleeping in your cradle but are days away from the big move to your crib!

You wear 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes-many of which Owen wore just last year!

You weigh almost 14 pounds (at least that's what you weighed a week ago when you visited the doctor for a dreaded 1st-ear infection!).

Your biggest news is following in your big brother Owen's foot steps and needing to wear a cranial orthotic (called a Star Band) for plagiocephaly. All those big words just mean your noggin' is pretty flat but we'll get it rounded out in no time. You just got your new head band Wednesday and you've done great so far-but today we did notice a dreaded "pink spot" that has been slow to fade so you got to try your solid foods with a "band break".




You belly laugh out loud and coo and grunt and even yell often. You love your brothers and SO FAR all of them love you so much. Owen loves to play Pat-a-cake with you. You are drinking 6-7 ounce bottles every 3-4 hours during the day and still wake up in the wee hours for a bottle too;-)

You (and Owen) both see your pediatrician next week for your 6 month (and 3 year!!!) check ups!

You are such a delight and we all love you so much! Happy 6 month birthday baby boy!


PS Here is a cute shot of you from your 5 month photo shoot (all 4 of you precious Valiant boys have worn those same bib overalls at some point for a monthly picture!):

6 years ago...

It was 10:12 PM and I was at work doing a precious newborn baby's footprints when I felt a huge "pop/pain" sensation and thought "uh, oh". I had to excuse myself from the delivery room and took off to the employee bathroom with Nitrazine paper in hand.

But I was only 34 weeks and 5 days pregnant...could this really be my water breaking?

The nitrazine paper said YES. Then about a half hour later, my contractions started in full force and my water was GUSHING out like the Niagara falls. Tim hadn't even made it to the hospital yet, but I was in full blown labor!

Then at 12:12 AM on September 27th, my precious baby Jacob Thomas Valiant was born-I was still on the clock too;-).

It was a rocky start for him as his lungs were not mature and he stayed in the NICU for 12 long days...those were dark times for me. I couldn't have imagined that I'd tread even deeper, darker waters with future child bearing (Thank you very much Owen).

Look how far you've come my special boy, who at the ripe age of 5 3/4 decided he wanted his name to be "JAKE".

We love you so much Jakey! Hope you have a very special 6th birthday. I know I likely will not forget it as I've never had 17 neighbor kids (including my 3) over to entertain for a birthday party all while in misery myself of suffering greatly from probable strep throat-results not in yet, thank you slow Urgent Care (don't worry parents of the world-I've been on antibiotics now for over 24 hours and will be on them even longer (almost 48 hours)when the party actually occurs;-)

I have all kinds of fun things planned like a nature scavenger hunt, creature themed charades, cotton ball/plastic spoon relays, musical chairs-plus much more. And we are having "make your own" sundaes and birthday cupcakes. It's sure to add to my gray hair total but all very worth it as I believe Jake will remember this one;-)

Who wouldn't want to search for a dead bug on a scavenger hunt? Fun times!

Oh, in case you were wondering, Jake is still loving his $200 gas meter!

Fun times while I should be sleeping...

*As usual, blogger spell checker isn't working---so forgive my typos, etc*


This is what the non-sane people do when they should be sleeping...finally make a blog post about what's been going on.

1st up: the verdict on the new gas meter $65 but with labor, the bill was $189...way more than our typical birthday gift amount for our youngins'.

What's wrong with this picture?




Something you don't see everyday, eh?



Now onto the Owen and his cosmetic fiasco pics I promised...10 for your viewing pleasure...oh the captions I *could* use for some of these shots;-)












Can you believe him? Oi-vey.




We let the boys do soccer this year...2 games down so far...they LOVE it! Who knew? Each of them have been awarded special patches each week-TJ got the best attitude award (at least he gets that somewhere:-) the first week and most improved the 2nd week (he scored FIVE goals -and only one other kid scored 1) and Jake got best effort (and scored a goal too!)! I'm so proud of them. Soccer is way more fun than I thought it would be. I missed TJ's game this week, but here are some shots of Jake in action (or lack thereof;-):





Here's what Owen did the WHOLE time:



Nope, don't worry, not ONE person stared at us the whole game...not one;-) Really-no one shot us glares and snickered as we dealt with our heathen. No one.



Lastly, I couldn't resist showing off my latest couponing score:




The first picture is my Target trip from Saturday: I spent around $16 but left with a $5 Target gift card (so net of $11). Included are 16 individual string cheese, 6 boxes of cereal, 5 boxes of Fiber one bars (da bomb!), 9 individual portion cereal cups, and 2 new bounce dryer bars (haven't tried yet).

Second photo is my Meijer trip from Saturday: I spent $2...yes I'm serious. AND, I walker away with $6 in Meijer bucks (net +$4). Included is 6 boxes of kool-aid singles for a soldier care package donation, 2 boxes corn, 5 bags frozen peas, 2 lysol spray cleaners, 2 lysol toilet bowl cleaners, 5 healthy choice meals, 2 jars pickles, 2 apples, 1 caramel dip, and 1 bag saurkraut.

It was a very fun shopping trip to spend $18 total in cash and walk away with $11 in "on your next purchase" bucks. I already used them too-on todays papers to get my inserts for future couponing endeavors!

I will mention working full-time has left my house in shambles, me with no friends, and I don't even know why we have cable. But, I'm working, my kids are fed and clothed, and I'm couponing-so life is still pretty good.

Oh- and no, everyone is not well-YET! TJ and I made a trip to urgent care Thursday night for his mono-like symptoms (tested negative though-on an antibiotic now), Tim is still ODing on Tylenol daily, and now Griffin is having diarrhea and not eating.

Life is good though;-)

09.09.09

What a cool date huh?

It's even more cool because it's my sweet hubby's birthday!

Even though he's STILL sick...I hope he has a HAPPY 34th at home napping;-)

Love you BABY!

We are a mess...

Seriously...we couldn't be anymore of a mess.

I started working full-time. God laughed at me.

Here is what has transpired since I began working:

Things started out ok-I got an eye infection (my 4th or is it 5th? in just a couple months-blasted contacts!).

Jake got quite the yucky cold so we asked my sister to be on stand by for kid duty so I could still work. Ironically enough, the next day, TJ was sick. Verdict-the flu.

Jake continued with his cold and it turned into a nice case of impetigo in his nose-lovely.

Griffin got his 4 month immunizations and of course, they gave him a nice bought of the fussies and fever.

Owen got the flu mist vaccine and he got a nice fever as well (I requested the shot for him b/c he deserved it but they denied me the request).

TJ continued on with his "flu" for 3 days and finally went back to school on Friday. He then landed back in bed by the weekend with fever yet again.

And the grand daddy of them all...for our lovely 3 day weekend, Tim got the flu also. He's been in bed (or on the couch) since he woke up Saturday morning and it's really been the most pathetic thing...I will spare the details here to protect what little dignity he has left. He's already called off work for Tuesday...I can't WAIT to go back to work Tuesday (today) and it really is 2am. I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep.

It has been MISERABLE being the single parent of a 4 month, 2, 5, 9 and 33 year old. I haven't been the best example nor had the most patience.

I've learned Owen has 2 levels-unconscious (when he's sleeping) and really loud (all other times). Griffin is needy...what a selfish 4 month old. Jake is very self reliant, impetigo and all. TJ and his father are...well, I think I may have to play the 'if you haven't anything nice to say' card.

Owen also is sporting the remnants of a make-up stained face as I didn't trust my instincts and allowed there to be "quietness" for a bit too long Saturday. I wear a lip product that stains the lips and it works lovely to keep my pale lips looking pretty all day...but Owen's eyebrows and cheeks are a different story. Not soap nor water will remove that stuff-serves ya right you little terror.

God is still laughing.

4 months old!

Griffin has hit yet another milestone...he's 4 months old!

What a little ham! Here are a few of the shots from his 4 month picture trip (I heart Target!).







He doesn't go for his 4 month check up for a week or so (since i screwed up and forgot to schedule early;-)...so I weighed him here at home. I ht ought he was quite the chunk but my beloved growth charts show him staying right on track with his weight (small but mighty;-) in the 10th percentile...with a jammie and dry diaper on he weighed 13 pounds even! Now for the length...I wouldn't of guessed it but unless my measuring tape is whacked, he is only 23 inches which make shim a real shorty in the ZERO percentile...so either I stink at measuring or he's not staying on track with his length growth...no worries-no plans for the NBA anyway.

He's busting outta 3 month clothes and as soon as we finish off this pack of size one diapers, he'll graduate to size 2's. He's become more vocal and makes the cutest (at least right now) whiny sounds. He rolls to his side and looks for us and scootches in circles (slowly but surely). He's still on 6 oz of formula around every 3 hours, except at night which he sleeps through pretty well.

That's about it for the lil' stinker right now. I'll update when he has his check-up if my measurements were off.

Jake's birthday list:

Jake's 6th birthday is nearing (9-27). He's been working on a list for sometime now.

Today his list was wiped clean and we got him an early birthday present:


Yep, a new shiny gas meter!


I'll let the pictorial walk you through this unbelieveable tale:

The evidence-a couple basketballs and a golf club:



The only suspect-Jake with a verbal confession to his mother

The emergency phone call to vectren: "HI, my son hit the gas thingy outside of our house and now there is a strong gas smell and hissing noise".



What I'm told (after confirming my address)- "Ma'am do not turn anything in your home off or on. DO not close nor open any windows, do not start your vehicles. Do not make any calls including with your cell phone. Do not hang up, I will disconnect this call."

Me-"Uh, so should we leave the house"

Vectren-"yes, you should get a safe distance from the home but watch for the response truck".

Great.What.fun.

So, I get Owen outta bed, and grab Griffin in his carrier and stick him in his stroller to go stand on the street corner. I did take my cell with me and call Tim who was already near our house coming back from a meeting. He asked me what I brought with me...I said "nothing but our children!"

The neighbor let the boys go inside since it's so hot out and we sat on her porch in the shade and waited. We could smell gas even at her house.

Finally, Vectren shows up. He explained due to the nature of the situation, he'd have to "write it up"...so we asked if that meant $$$. He said "yeah".




So, enjoy your shiny new gas meter Jake!



Oh, and no more golf for you 'Tiger'.