Overdue Update 3/3: First haircut, Weight loss, Beach, Picnic, etc (July)

So, as you might expect, I didn't manage my 3rd post as quickly as I hoped I would. But here I am at last, *only* a whole week later! ;-) [oops!]

Here's a photo of my good looking baby, who I'm afraid shouldn't really be called a baby anymore! But since he IS my baby, I still call him that. But as you can see, after his first haircut, he's looking very grown up indeed!

I wasn't sure about cutting off his lovely hair, as it gave him such a gentle look. But as you'll see from the photos below, it was looking rather untidy - and since my skill at cutting hair doesn't go beyond using the hair clippers, it was a cut like his brothers he got! :-P

See all the hair! And he would always grab his hair with messy/food covered hands, so shorter is better, even if it's made him look more grown up even faster. He had lots of fun driving this truck in the pile of dirt. He *loves* cars & trucks and likes to drive them all over the house and garden. His favourite are ones that have pull-back action and he likes to race them around - or better still, have mummy (or Benjamin etc) do it with him! :-) He says the word "car" with such a growl/force - he's a boy that *loves* action and effects. He goes around saying words like crash, bang, roar and other "action sounds". And you can't read a book to him with bears & lions in the pictures without him roaring many times over! :-)

Wondering how the padlock works! ;-) Thankfully Elijah is very different from Clement & Deborah, in that both of them seemed to always think there was *nothing* better than escaping. Every door & gate was meant to open and escape out of. Even if there was something fun to do (park, toys, friends, etc) they just wanted to find out HOW can you get out! So it is a wonderful relief that Elijah thinks about other things and isn't *just* worried about getting away. Of course, he does like to open doors, play with locks, etc but he will stay there opening & closing it - he wants to find out how *everything* works. :-)

One favourite item of his is the hoover (vacuum cleaner)! He will drop ALL toys and run over to study the hoover and try to use it, etc. He's always pressing all the buttons and trying to move things around, etc. And even more when it's turned on - then it's exciting and makes a sound! And of course, this is very different from the 3 siblings before him, who *hated* the sound of the hoover (and some still do). So yeah, it's fun to see the similarities and differences when a little one is growing up!

Oh yes, and another favourite item of Elijah's - the broom! He'll spend ages sweeping the floor in the kitchen or the pavement outside. And he gets very upset when someone steals the broom from him!

It's a pity Abigail is behind the trampoline net here, but I thought it was a nice photo of her! :-)

Earlier in July we went to Rosemarkie beach with some friends (3 other families). It was a beautiful, sunny, and warm day and we had a very nice time. Well, the children and I did anyway - Peter had a bad bout of hay fever and didn't enjoy it at all. :-/ In the photo above Elijah is feeling sand for the first time and wondering what it is!

Then he thought he should taste it too! ;-)

Abigail and her best friend Rebekah - not building a sand castle (that's far too boring!) but building The Great Wall of China out of sand! :-) [yay for homeschooling and a history loving child!]

Feeling more relaxed about this sandy stuff! ;-)

My biggest 4 all standing in a row - wondering if they dare to get wet! lol

Elijah was pleased when someone brought a bucket of water for him!

Deborah ditched her clothes (except for Tots Bots training pants - could have done with one of their swim nappies that day! :-) ) and she had a *wonderful* time in the water! Don't know when I've seen her having SO much fun!

Benjamin really enjoyed it too - as they all did!

Abigail in the water!

And Elijah had a splash too - tho I *did* keep his clothes dry. ;-)

Relaxing and letting the tide wash over him.

And on the way home, a yummy ice cream to cool down with! My "bargain tip" for days out with lots of little ones (and not spending a fortune!) is to find a grocery store (even the small Co-op shop in Fortrose had a good selection) and buy a box of ice creams. We got 8 choc ices for only £1 - it would likely have been at least £1 for each child if we'd bought an ice cream elsewhere, which adds up when there are 5 children + parents!

One day recently I decided the weather was too nice to sit at home, but Peter was out for most of the day (probably collecting books from various people who wanted to clear out excess books!). So I told the children we'd make a picnic and walk to the park that is just over a mile from our house. I seem to rarely take them there (I guess because we have a play park literally just around the corner from our house) but this one has wide open green space, is just along the shore, and has a duck pond, so they were most excited! I just totally relaxed about the time we were out (instead of thinking about chores or laundry!) and decided we'd just enjoy the day - we were out for over 3 hours! It was a lovely afternoon! :-)

Elijah was very excited about the various birds (seagulls and swallows) that were flying all around us. He's quite obsessed with birds and that's the first thing he thinks about when he's near a window or goes outside. He says "birds" and then usually "squawk" next! :-) And Benjamin was just the same when he was this age - *loved* to watch birds!

Pointing and running about! :-)

He *will* climb anything - and slides are a favourite!

A park with a view - though not sure the camera captured the sun shining on the sandy beach across the water! :-)

Deborah was rather annoyed that she couldn't reach the bars above - she isn't frightened of heights or anything - totally daring little girl! :-) I've become so used to my brave 2 year old that I forget what little girls are often like when I see a 3 or 4 year old little girl asking to be helped up/down from a low swing, or ladder, etc. It's quite funny, because Deborah has to do everything herself, and is insulted if someone thinks she can't do it on her own!

This slide in the side of the hill was their favourite and they spent a LOT of time taking turns going up & down.

A typical Deborah face when she's having fun! :-)

Clement

At the top - probably talking about who should be next!

After a good hour or so at the park, we went to see the ducks - Elijah loved them, of course!

We all loved the tiny ducklings!

Then the children decided that they wanted to take photos of me and them together - so this is Benjamin's photography!

Abigail's photography - and the boys wishing the sun wasn't in their eyes (it was very bright that afternoon).

Clement's photography

And Deborah's photography - not bad for a 2.5 year old! :-)

Oh yes, this photo is out of order, but shows both of the ducklings and their mama! They were curious and came right up to see us.

The lovely view from our holiday house in Edderton, on a sunny afternoon. It was lovely last Saturday when I was getting the house ready for guests arriving - perfect weather to welcome someone! :-) I've been staying very busy this summer with running the house there! Well, cleaning it up after guests leave and getting it ready for the next ones, lots of ironing of bed linens and making up beds, and then all the laundry to do afterwards, etc. Out of the 7 weeks of the summer school holidays, there is only 1 week that there wasn't someone in the house, so it's been good. Of course, I'll probably feel like *I* need a holiday at the end of it, when it's time to get the children back to lessons again. I take Elijah with me while I get the house ready and Peter takes the oldest 4 back home with him until I'm done. He's a fantastic little companion, though it took me 4.5 hours to get everything done there today, and Elijah got a bit fed up in the last hour, but I think it's amazing that he was so happy & well behaved for so long!

This is a rubbish photo, but I wanted to have a picture taken the other day to mark/remember the day I achieved a full 60lb weight loss! :-D And since I promised to say a bit more about the "Trim Healthy Mama" (THM) eating plan, I thought I'd use this photo.

So yes, it's been just over 7 months since I started, and I didn't really think it would work or I'd get rid of the bulk of the weight that I needed to shift. I did the Atkins diet at age 19 (thanks to my wonderful Mom who suggested it and helped me stick to it!) and lost 50lbs at the time. It was great and I felt so much happier to be a sensible size, but I've always struggled with weight since a child, so as soon as I started eating "normal" again, the weight slowly but surely returned. And then fast forward to after having 5 children, and I was in trouble. :-/ My BMI was far too high when I was pregnant with Elijah and meant I was considered more "high risk" by the midwives etc, which wasn't a nice feeling. And then I had issues with high BP at his birth, and then the months that followed, I just felt far too heavy, and it was affecting my mobility (due to a long term knee injury) and the extra weight made me feel pretty miserable. So it was a wonderful blessing to find see friends talking about the THM book and way of eating, and since I had thought about trying Atkins again (but wasn't sure if it was safe while breastfeeding Elijah), I thought this was too good to be true - a way to get trim & healthy through the various stages of being a mama, that I always find myself in! :-)

So I bought the book and have never looked back! The first 20-30lbs went off quite quickly, yet I never felt starved - lots of wonderful, delicious (and healthy!) food to keep me satisfied, yet the pounds just fall off, with NO effort! :-O And over the months, faithfully, each week, I find I'm 1-2lbs lighter - a nice, slow, manageable weight loss. The basic idea is that at each meal, you chose a primary fuel source (ie, fats or carbohydrates), rather than mixing them. So for example, if I want to have porridge (oatmeal) I'll have it without any fat - so no butter, and I'll use almond milk and a bit of stevia to sweeten it. Or if I want to have bacon & eggs, I'll have it without any carbs (so, no toast and no potatoes! lol). But as you can see, it's very balanced and not extreme, because you're not omitting carbs all the time, just having them separate from fats, and in a reasonable quantity (not more than 45g of carbs per meal - in a low fat setting). And the clever way of mixing up the fuels your body is burning, you keep a good, healthy, active metabolism, and you burn fat - yay! :-)

It really does work, as the missing 60lbs has proved! And I'm eating far more chocolate than I *ever* did before! :-O Quick, easy & delicious chocolate is made by mixing coconut oil, cocoa & stevia to sweeten, and mixing it with things like peanut butter, etc and you have some lovely treats, which means there's NO desire to have a slice of ordinary cake that the rest of the family might be eating! So I think that's the basics - there are various "speical" ingredients that make the plan more interesting/more variety, but it's quite possible to do with just basic foods, and eating them in a sensible way. I know I'm tooooo busy in life to have anything complicated about the way I eat, so it must be simple! ;-)

I'm not yet at goal weight, but each week, I'm getting closer & closer! Nearly a year ago, I "gave up" and thought I'd *never* be able to deal with my weight problem - at least not before the kids were grown up. I remember donating a pile of clothes to the local charity shop, because there was NO way I'd fit into them again, and then I went and bought skirts that were size 20 (or were they 22!) [ashamed] It felt terrible, but I didn't think there was hope. Now today, I'm wearing clothes that are *smaller* than the ones I donated - I never dreamed I'd be wearing size 12/14 skirts and 14 tops! I still think it's too good to be true, but it really is true!

And there are "smaller" things too - like my wedding rings. For about 12-18 months, I couldn't wear my engagement ring, and was barely able to fit the plain wedding band on, without fear of it being stuck. But about 5 months ago, I could suddenly wear them again! And today, I'm thinking, they seem too big - they're actually loose. Anyway, that was quite exciting, as it was nearly like getting new jewelry, since I'd not been able to wear them for so long.

So, there you have it, my THM journey thus far! :-) And now I'd better get the kitchen cleared up, but I didn't want another week passing without finishing this, especially since Stephanie ;-) was waiting for it! :-D