Litte Miss Mallory

Here are just some fun pictures of Mallory from the past couple of months.  She is a real ham when she wants to be!  I can't believe how BIG she is getting!  She will be FOUR in just a few weeks!

I am starting to get a little sad about her growing up, as the music accompanying the blog will suggest.  There is SUCH a difference in her now compared to a year ago.  She is still such a baby in my eyes, but I need to let her be the little girl she is.

Enjoy!

Trying to climb a tree   ........

....   just like her BROTHER!!!!

 Mallory got this scooter for her 3rd birthday last year.

 And this year she may be able to ride it all by herself!

 We played dress up one day to make a present for one of Mommy's friends.  Mallory hammed it up for the camera- this is her "Supermodel" pose!

 Storytime at the library is always a favorite activity.  Mallory was super excited to meet Tacky the Penguin!

Listening to the story about Tacky....

 And, here is typical Mallory after waking up from a nap.  Crazy hair and all!  She was watching a DVD on her little player while Grandma got a fun project ready in the kitchen.

 Mallory dictates to Grandma what to do next.  She is an EXPERT baker, you know!

 Mallory had a "boo-boo on her nose", (it was actually a stuffy nose!) so she requested a band-aid for comfort.  It did not last long, but this picture will last forever!

Our friend, Miss Angela made these matching scarves for me and Mallory.  She wouldn't pose for a picture- the norm these days.

Well... a sorta-posed picture.  I think she is holding her breath here.

"Mama...?  Why there so much talking before they sing?"  Dressed as Dorothy and watching the Wizard of Oz for the first time.

Mallory loves to pile up in my bed on Saturdays and watch TV!

Mallory has had her hair cut before, but this was the first time she ever had it washed in the sink!  She thought it was so funny!  (And she chose Bubble gum shampoo, by the way!)

A cute little braid to finish the look!  

While making cookies, Mallory made a snowman out of cookie dough!

!

Enjoying ice cream with Isabella at Chic-fil-a

Frankie and Mallory love to be silly!

Isabella and Mallory swing on the playground at Stone Oak Elementary

Mallory is stil enjoying swimming class.

Our little fishy!

Mallory and I both had a "hat day" last week.  Cute, right?  ;)

Sweet cousins!  Check out Mallory's Cindy Brady-like curls!  All natural- I SWEAR!

Mallory and her BFF Parker from school

It was Rodeo Day, y'all!

"CCC-HHH-EEEEEE-EEEEEE-SSSSS-EEEEE!!!!!!!"

Posin' fer the camera!

She enjoyed a burger after school while Mommy helped Auntie Meg in her new apartment.

Sweet matching toes.!  How I love moments shared with my little girl!

I Love You, Mallory!!!!!!!

XOXOXOXOXO

Mommy

Getting the FOOD Under Control!

So, as I have let the WORLD know, FOOD is my weakness.  My medication.  My friend.  My enemy.  Food, glorious, wonderful, horrible, addictive FOOD!!!!!!!!

Here in Texas, a still-relatively-small (but going to be pretty BIG I think) company has launched called "My Fit Foods."  Without sounding like an advertisement or sales person, I will just tell you, it is a novel concept, and one I felt compelled to try.  I know there is no quick-fix to my food addiction, and that teaching my daughter food comes in neat, microwavable containers is WAY out of left field.  But I just had to do SOMETHING to control my continued indulgence and snacking.  Their "21-Day Challenge" seems like a great option to do just that.

Since this blog is meant to serve as a window to our every day Texas life for Charles' enjoyment (and anyone else who may be interested), I thought I'd just let you know how my day goes since starting the 21 days.... I am on day 10, now.

First, I met with a rep to describe my daily activity level, my weight, blood pressure, etc.  She created a 21-day menu for me.  No thinking about food all day!  I just head to the fridge and grab it when I have a meal!  I am eating 5 small meals a day that are 98% gluten-free and high in protein and low in fat.  You can see I goofed up a bit on the first few days and had to make some changes, but then, I got the hang of it, and it has been a breeze!

And THIS is what four days of food looks like.  Luckily, my parents have a fridge outside in the garage, so I can have a whole shelf to myself.  I pick up meals twice a week- they are made fresh on-site every day.  

I decided (for myself) to keep a record of what I ate and when, and how I liked it.  So far, there are only a couple of things I will never want again... like, the chicken taco bowl.  Anyone surprised?  I'm NOT a fan of Mexican food.... and low-fat Mexican food?  Please.  That is just wrong.

 I am not a pill-taking kind of girl, so she really had to drive home the idea of supplements.  I can't see they are hurting me any, so I thought I would just go all the way... I take these twice a day, along with my multivitamin.

And here is where I REALLY show commitment.... I DRINK (yes, drink) a "cocktail" of the above ingredients every morning.  It is a liver cleanse, meant to help process out all of the CRAP I have been eating for so long.  (Fast food, cake, cookies, white bread, etc...)  I will not lie.  It is NASTY.  But it is over quick, and I get to follow it with my largest meal of the day, breakfast.  

THAT has been a HUGE challenge for me.  Just sitting down to eat breakfast.... it is SO HARD!  But I am COMMITTED to these 21 days, and am happy to report that already my continuous desire to indulge is definitely improving.  I see a plate of cookies on the counter and keep on walking.  Or go to Subway with my family and just drink water, or eat the snack I brought along.   I am allowed one cheat meal a week, so that helps, to know I am not cut off completely.  I am hoping I can adopt a realistic lifestyle after these 3 weeks are done... but I am not sure the "cocktail" will be a part of it!

What's a Dog to do?

Many of you have been following my updates on facebook about our dog, JD.  Wow.  Has he been a little scoundrel lately.  For those of you who may not know, here is the story.

This is JD.  Our awesome (although today I use that word reluctantly) Jack Russell Terrier.  He is nearly 10 years old, and has always been a  little bit of a challenge.  Barks alot, jumps alot, but generally, a very nice pet who just loves us as hard as he can.

My sister and her 3 kiddos have been living with us for a little over a month, now.  When they moved in, we discovered that sweet treats like chocolate and cookies and such disappeared....quickly.  It was decided to find hiding places for these food items, so they could be shared equally among all.  A favorite hiding place became my bedroom closet.

I am USUALLY very good about keeping the door closed.  On February 1, however, I failed to do so, and JD found himself a GOLDMINE.... literally.  A WHOLE bag of Hershey's Chocolate Almond Treasures- wrappers and all.

His sheepish appearance gave himself away, as well as the chocolate on his breath.  It did not take long for me to find the evidence, and within 20 minutes of his delightful discovery, he found himself in "Dog Jail" while I called the emergency vet to figure out what to do.

Because of the large amount of paper and foil involved, they said to bring him right in.

Three hours and $162.00 later, we were home, with a nervous-but-emptied-stomach-JD.

He slept in dog jail all night, with me getting up every 2 hours to take him out and let him drink some water.  The vet said he ate those things so fast that most of them were still fully wrapped, without even a tooth mark in them!  He was in a HURRY!

Needless to say<  Jd was in the dog house.  Every time I saw him, I said "You owe me a bag of chocolate and $162.00."  Now, don't think I was TOO harsh... I let him sleep in bed with my nephew, Tony and even let him cuddle with ME now and then.  But ANYTIME that dog was sniffing for food, I was ON him!

So, for Valentine's Day, my dad helped JD pick out a Valentine, in hopes of earning a little more forgiveness.

And, included in the bag was, what else?........  a bag of Hershey's Chocolate Almond Treasures.

I caved, and gave him some big bed time.  Mallory even gave him her JD stuffed animal to sleep with.

But, the joy did not last long.... on February 16th, the chocolate thief struck AGAIN!  This time, off of my COMPUTER TABLE, from a CLOSED box that was TIED with a ribbon!!!!

 Yes... the precious Valentine's Day chocolates I blogged about not too long ago.  Glad I took a picture.

I am sure you can guess where he ended up.  Again.  For the whole night... except to be let out to puke or poop or drink.  You know, fun stuff like that.

JD's future is hanging in the balance.  I have never been a "Marley and Me" kind of dog owner.  Until now, I have been able to manage all of JD's annoying habits by locking him up when people come over, or putting him outside when I need to clean.  I am not sure how much longer I can handle behavior like this.

He continues to hunt, and hunt and HUNT... and I am convinced he would make an excellent drug dog.

But only if they were smuggling the drugs in by wrapping them in chocolate.

Getting my act together...

So, in my last post, I revealed what has all run amuck in my life.  Maybe there is a correlation between keeping your living space free of clutter and keeping your LIFE free of chaos?  I would be willing to try anything once!

So, here are the "after" pictures.  Only took me about 2 days to pick up the laundry, sort through papers, and generally regain control of my tiny living space.  Although, there are apartments in New York that are smaller than this room, and TWO people share them- so the word "tiny" may not be quite appropriate!  I don't want to sound like Camille Grammar!

Anyway- let's hope this is a fresh start for EVERYTHING in my life falling into an orderly pattern...to include my diet, exercise routine and actually MAILING the things I have for friends and for Charles!

 OK... at first glance this may not LOOK like an improvement... but I encourage you to scroll down to the previous post and see the "before" picture!  That changing table is holding all of my "to do" craft projects, PCS information, medical records.  It may look unsightly, but no matter how much I tired to straighten it up, this is the system that works for now.  At least it is off the floor and the table... and the desk... and the dresser....

 I also forgot to mention in the previous post that among all the other uses this room has, it is also "Dog Jail", where JD has been spending A LOT of his time lately.  We also have to lock him up every time we leave the house.  We have to put on his barking collar (hanging on the window shade- out of Mallory's reach)  And the boxes... I know they are unsightly... but we have been sending and receiving SO MUCH MAIL since Christmas!  The size and shapes of the various boxes varies from week to week.  It's just easier to have them at the ready when I am up packing one at 11pm than to treck out to the garage.  So as unsightly as it is, I can put up with this one...

YAY!  The dresser!  dusted, cleared off and photo updated (That frame used to hold a 2-year picture of Mallory!- she will be FOUR in just a few weeks!!!)  And that is my awesome fancy digital frame from Charlie and Nancy- I LOVE how big it is!

 On the dresser?  My workout schedule and Fit Foods Menu.  Have to keep those things handy every day!

 MUCH improved over here, too- but I can't get past the post-its.  What can I say?  I love a visual reference!

Complete with a "To Do" list- look how much I have checked off already!

And the flowers.... in their place of honor at last!  That photo of me and Charles was taken one day before our first anniversary at his father's wedding!  And the one of just me.... it was taken in August, and serves as my reminder of all the hard work I put in to look and feel great.... and why I want to keep going and not slip up again!  

And.... the reality- time to file, not pile.  Lots of things still need to be sorted through, but at least for now, I can breathe a little easier in here!