status report/update on "the new me"

A little over a month ago, I posted about "the new me." In it, I described aspects of myself that would be altering. I thought it might be nice to provide everyone with a little status report: updating you on how those changes are going.

First off, it might be helpful to remind you of those particular aspects that I will be discussing. There was the more fit and trim body, degree of "tan-ness," bang situation, and eyebrow configuration.

I'll start with the former and end with the latter. Here goes:

• More fit and trim body: I have continued walking on my treadmill pretty much everyday and now that “my shows” have had their season premieres, it makes it easier to get up at 5:45am and go walk. The gym started their classes September 9th and since that date, I have gone about 3 times per week. I am working on a “schedule” of sorts: BodyPump Mondays at noon, BodyFlow Tuesdays at 9:30am, and BodyFlow Fridays at noon. I am planning on trying RPM tomorrow morning at 9:30am, but I’m not sure how that’s going to go. Depending on that, it may end up being worked into my “schedule” or I may never take that class again. We’ll see. I also plan on actually talking with one of the trainers so I can get an idea of what equipment I could use in order to make myself a little workout regime. And as for the iPhone app, I am enjoying it thoroughly! It’s fun and being the “over-organized” person that I am, it suits me quite well. In all, I think I’m looking a little more fit. I've probably lost about 5 pounds -not that I needed to lose a lot. It’s more about getting fit and trim which in the process has resulted in a loss of a little weight. But hey - that works for me!
• Degree of Tan-ness: I have not been tanning in over a month. I think I still look pretty good and no one has yet to comment on my “pale-ness” (so that’s always nice). I want to go to ‘Clinique’ soon with my mom and get my make-up done so I can figure out what make-up goes well with my new “complexion” (and while getting it done, I would LOVE for my mommy to buy me some of the items used during the “make-over”… did you get that mom?... pretty obvious "hint," huh?). In sum… I do not plan on resuming the tanning ritual: the tanning addiction has been overcome.
• Bang Situation: The bangs are still growing. In a few months when they are more grown out, I will share some before and after pictures in the form of a blog post.
• Eyebrow Configuration: As for the eyebrows, they are doing well. The tweezers have gone into hiding and the eyebrows are definitely fuller and bushier. And stay tuned for a blog post dedicated solely to the eyebrow transformation. It will feature before and after shots. Hopefully you will be able to tell the difference and prefer the “after eyebrows” as opposed to how they used to be!

hayden's dollhouse.

Hayden got an awesome new dollhouse for my birthday.

This was some time ago, but it has taken me awhile to get some good "post dollhouse pictures" so bear with me as the "assemble" pictures are a little dated.

First we assembled the new dollhouse:Which was fun. And now he gets to play with it (which he does every day):
I think/know that he likes it!!!

ALS Walk.

On January 23rd, 2007, two significant events occurred: my son Hayden Samuel Werner was born and a wonderful woman, Sarah Burnside, passed away.

Sarah had ALS (otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), and due to the disease passed away on the same day Hayden was born.

Sarah was an inspirational woman: kind, generous, amazing.

I had known Sarah for a little over 10 years. She reminded me of my Mimi (my mom’s mom). Sarah was very mild, very caring - always cheerful. She was open-minded and refreshingly progressive. She was truly remarkable.

Every year, on Hayden’s birthday Wade Burnside, her widower, sends Hayden a birthday card (Wade is well-aware of the fact that Hayden was born on the day Sarah passed away). I think it gives him a sense of peace knowing that something so wonderful came to be on a day that something else so wonderful ceased to exist.

I don’t know, but regardless the birthday card that Wade sends means so much. I can’t even explain it.

On Saturday, the ALS Association of Northwest Arkansas held its ninth annual Walk to Defeat ALS at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale. Hayden, Randy, my dad, and myself attended (as did at least 1,000 other walkers (including Wade)).

Here are some pictures:

In this first picture, you may not be able to tell, but there are red balloons in the sky that the walkers released. It was really beautiful and inspiring.
And here are Randy, my dad, and Hayden.And here is Sarah (1.26.1930 – 1.23.2007). Beautiful, brave, brilliant.

"i kill you"

Last week, out of the blue, Hayden said to Randy in a very sweet, friendly voice: I kill you.

Okay. We immediately told Hayden that that was not something he should say and it's not nice to say. We also asked him where he heard that, and he said that he didn't know.

Since that time, he's only repeated it once (also in a cheery, light-hearted way).

I realize this isn't really a big deal; however, it definitely caught us off guard. I am thinking that he heard this from a classmate (many of his classmates have older siblings which leads me to my theory regarding Hayden's hoodlum peers - totally kidding about the hoodlum comment!!!).

In all seriousness, I know that kids say things that they don't mean and often have no idea of the meaning behind the things they say... at the same time though, I don't want Hayden telling people, "I kill you." It isn't sweet and it doesn't sound cute (even though Hayden is). So I am glad that it's only happened twice, and hopefully it won't happen again.

playing with playdoh.

Hayden likes to play with playdoh. He probably "breaks it out" every other day. Here he is playing with it:As he was playing, daddy came home for lunch and Hayden was eager to show daddy what he had been up to:
Then Randy decided to become a part of Hayden's play and "hid" some playdoh behind his ear: claiming that he didn't know where the playdoh was and that he didn't know what Hayden was talking about when Hayden kept insisting that there was playdoh behind Daddy's ear.
Finally, Randy gave in and "coughed up" the booty.
Very fun and sweet to watch! I love my boys!!!

update on alfie and his weight.

I thought I would update everyone on Alfie and his weight.

So… on July 13th he started “the program” weighing in at 14 pounds (the program meaning the weight loss drug he is taking as well as a reduced-calorie food plan – we are measuring out his food every day and only letting him eat that amount of food per day).

Then, he went in on August 11th and had GAINED a little over 1 pound. We went back in last week and he weighed in at 14 ½ pounds. The doctor advised us to up the dosage of ‘Slentrol’ yet again, which we will be doing.

In all, he does seem to be doing better: whether that is due to the drug or the limitation of his food intake I’m not sure.

So we are going to keep him on the program for probably another few months and continue with the measuring of the food indefinitely. He simply cannot control how much he eats.

And I will be sure to keep you all updated on his progress… Go Alfie!

dinner with the wetsell family.

Sunday evening, The Wetsell family came over to hang out and have dinner with us. We cooked burgers on the grill and had chips. Nothing fancy - obviously - but it was still super yummy (at least I enjoyed it).

So here we are eating... the "we" being Jamie, Ryan, Randy, and Hayden. You will see Baby Parker later (meaning in a few more pictures as you scroll down further).And here is Hayden. After eating he went under the table. Not sure why. Hayden doesn't sit well during meals. He eats a bit and then he is done... and honestly, it isn't a big deal for us. We just let him do his thing (i.e., go play, go watch a movie, etc.).

So needless to say, here is Hayden under the table:And here is Baby Parker (and Alfie). Parker loved his burger!Here is Hayden checking out Parker.After dinner, Hayden proceeded to play ball with the boys... good times!We also had dessert: popsicles, ice cream, and sugar cookies. Yum. We definitely had a great time... well, at least I did.

playdate with Carolyn... finally!

After a month without a Carolyn/Ella playdate, we finally got together this past Saturday.

It was great. I had missed those two gals terribly. And I think Hayden did too. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures but we definitely had a good time. I am hoping we can get together again soon, but schedules are busy so we’ll just have to see.

On a side note, we did see Ella this past Wednesday at music class which has just resumed (so this was the first time he had seen her in about a month – Ella’s grandma is the one who brings her so we didn't see Carolyn). And how did Hayden react/interact with his friend?... He IGNORED her. I am not kidding. It was weird. They did share a “loving” moment at one point when Ella attempted to hug Hayden. There was a brief embrace… but still. And then Hayden ran into Ella at Mariachi’s (a local Mexican restaurant) this past Friday night, and what did he do there?... He IGNORED her again. It’s like he is playing hard to get… I swear, Hayden can be so silly sometimes!

game day!

Saturday was the Razorbacks second home game of the season (although it was my first game - because I wasn't able to go to the first). We played Georgia.

I always go into the game saying and thinking that we will lose. That way I "win" either way.

Let me explain. If we do end up winning, then I am happy because we won so I don't care that I was wrong in my assumption that we were going to lose... and if we do lose then I was right. So I win either way.

Here is a picture of Randy and I before we left for the game:And here we are at the game...And here is my dad with his "It's Showtime" banner. Don't ask. My dad is just a "super fan" and this is one of the expressions of his "super fan-ness"... gotta love Teddy B!!!Anywho... so we played hard, but not the best and not as good as Georgia and we lost. BOO!Next week we play Alabama at Alabama and in my opinion we will probably lose (but then again, maybe we will win?). GO HOGS!!!

P.S. I sat with my Uncle David and had a great time chatting with him! He is one "odd bird," but so am I and our conversation was definitely enjoyable. Then I chatted with my cousin Madison (David's son), and that was lovely too. Go Smith Family!!!

interview with Hayden.

I love “interviewing” Hayden. This is the third time I have “interviewed him” (meaning that I ask him basic questions and he answers them).

Here is the interview (note: this is the EXACT wording of both what I said and what he answered. Although the items in parentheses are my thoughts on his responses - not anything that was actually said):

• What is your full name? Hayden Samuel Werner
• How old are you? Two and a Half
• When is your birthday? 20 months (we have been working on this and rarely he gets this correct… obviously this is not the correct answer)
• What is your favorite color? Red
• What is your favorite thing to watch on the tv? The Wiggles
• What’s your favorite thing to eat? Popsicles (this is probably correct)
• What is your favorite thing to do? Watch a movie (very interesting… this is probably somewhat true)
• Who is your favorite friend? Beckham
• What do you want to be when you grow up? A fireman
• What is your dog’s name? Alfie
• What is your favorite animal? Cow (I have no idea where this came from)
• What is your favorite word? Yippee (I have to disagree. I think it’s really poo poo/poop)
• Are you a boy or a girl? A boy
• How are you feeling? Good
• Are you sad or happy? Happy
• Where do you live? At Nana’s and Nini’s (note: Nana = Randy’s mom and Nini = Randy’s aunt… they live together… I’m not sure why he responded this way, but obviously he loves his Nana and Nini!)
• Where does mommy live? At the post office (this is what he always says and I really don’t know why)
• Where does daddy live? At the office (this is what he always says, and again… I am not sure why)
• Where does Alfie live? At the cleaners (again… this is what he always answers. Not sure why)
• Who is your favorite person? Beckham (Wow. Beckham must be pretty awesome!)
• Is there anything else you want to tell me? No thank you.
• Was this fun? Yeah.

Good stuff!!! Gotta love it!

And notice how long this “interview” was. Quite impressive if I do say so myself.

profile picture.

I was just curious to see if any of you noticed that I changed my "profile picture."

I did it about a month ago. It went from this:
To this:The old picture was from about 2 years ago so I though I should update it. So... did you notice it? What do you think? Any thoughts, comments, or suggestions?

update on Hayden and school.

I just wanted to let everyone know that aside from that first week of school - which was a little rough - Hayden has been doing wonderful.

Certainly no more crying and no more apprehension.

According to his teachers, he plays a lot with a little boy named Beckham (who was also in his class last year)(and even yesterday Hayden mentioned that he and Beckham played a lot together).

In addition, his teachers tell me that he is a very fun, cheery little man who makes everyone happy: his presence is uplifting. What a nice compliment… to hear that your child makes others happy. Very gratifying.

In addition, his teachers have commented on his wonderful speech and his great “potty skills”… go Hayden!

They also say that he is very inquisitive and wants to know everything: what is she doing?, what are we doing next?, what is that?, who sits here?, etc. I wonder who he gets that from? (the answer for those of you who don’t know me well is “me”. I need to know everything. It is a problem – just ask my husband).

So needless to say, school is going well. Hayden is happy - which means mommy is happy.

lounging Hayden.

Recently, Hayden has been spotted lounging on his bed while watching his tv (mainly 'The Wiggles'... well, I think 95% of the time it is 'The Wiggles').

Here are some pictures documenting the 'Lounge Sessions':
Pretty amusing stuff... huh?

squirting the "water"

As previously mentioned, Hayden likes firemen/firetrucks.

One thing he likes to do is take "hose-like" objects and pretend they are hoses as he squirts the water (he frequently likes to squirt Randy, myself, and Alfie with the "water").

Here are some pictures:In this particular instance, the "Razorback horsey-thing" was the hose and Randy was the "fire" (or the object being squirted). I think Hayden successfully put out this fire! Good job Hayden! Way to fight the fire!!!