Real Change

I have never really had an interest to vote. I hate the politics that are involved. I actually like things about both candidates. How do you choose just one?
I do think that real change for this country will start with Congress. So to them I say:
Do your job as a PUBLIC SERVANT! Not solely based on your political affiliation. Come together as Americans with a sense of purpose, honesty and patriotism to move our country FORWARD! If you are no longer able to compromise, resign and let fresh, new, and eager minds that will develop and reach over party lines for the benefit of our country. We the people are tired of this non-sense. Try walking / working in our shoes on a daily basis. You would develop a different perspective about your "job" in Congress.
For this reason I think that term limits in Congress should be established. I think "life-time" pay should be removed. Congressmen/women serve your terms then come back & join us the rest of us Americans.

Super slacker

I am terrible about updating. Its been a month since my "crack down". Directly after my last post we all cycled through what is now known as "THE cough". Needless to say I haven't been back to the gym since that time, but have been going on a walk with the kiddos & dogs as often as the weather allows it. I have only loss 4lbs but something is better than gaining!
Weight 222lbs
I will check in again in a month. (That is safe)

Scary Facts & A fresh start

Scary Facts
I am owning up to the person I am. I do not feel like the person that I see the mirror. Here are the facts & they are scary. I am 5' 4", 226 lbs & a size 22. This shockingly is not the biggest I have been. While pregnant with Keys I reached 240. I know that is pregnancy but its still a huge number that never should have been. I didn't make a weight loss resolution because we all know how those go.
My out look on my weight changed on Jan 18th. I got the news that my Aunt Susan was in the hospital with kidney failure, pneumonia & was going to lose a leg due to diabetes. My aunt & I were not close by any means. I am thankful for FB that we were able to reconnect and learn about all the new things going our lives. Side note sorry! Aunt Susan was always a big women. Its a genetics thing on my dads side of the family. Jan 19th she passed away. Its always a super hard thing when someone dies so young. She was only 50, but she had been morbidly obese for the last 20 years of her life. Because of her passing my parents were deeply involved in the planning of her funeral because her family was broke & my parents were the only people who could afford a proper service for her. Its because of them I know that she was 550 lbs when she died. 550 lbs!!! This is in my DNA! That wasn't the biggest she had ever been. Just a year and a half earlier she weighed in at 700 lbs. This makes me cry every time I think about it.
Now my dads side of the family has a scary track record that I didn't know about. My grandma died @ 44 from a heart attack. My grandmas sister passed in her 50's from diabetes complications. Now my aunt. This is all not good news. The Forakis DNA is not kinda to the women it produces.

Fresh Start
I don't like the person I see in the mirror. Thankfully I have an amazing husband who makes me feel sexy. Thanks babe I love you! This is no longer the person I will be. I haven't had a soda since my Aunt passed. My hands no longer swell up. I am committing to being a healthier version of me. So that I wont be a statistic of the Forakis DNA I will be THE example! I am committing to going to the gym for 30min on Wed, Fri & Sun. I have been eating healthier & I feel better! Thanks to my mom pushing salads on me while at her house. I will be checking in weekly with weigh ins & recipes that are healthy and tasty.
So while owning up here is my BEFORE picture
Front



















Side



















Weigh In

Pregnancy & Puppies

Its amazing how one is preparing me of the other & how the other is making one alot harder!

This pregnancy is being AWESOME! No consisten swelling yet which is a blessing. I can feel baby girl moving constantly and I love it! Everything is checking out good. Whew

On the other hand this litter of puppies has turned me into an emotional mess. Morgan had 10 puppies which is a huge litter for a Boston Terrier. 1 puppy had a severe cleft pallete and had to be put to sleep less than 10 hrs after she was born. 2 days after the litter was born we discovered we had a runt. After further inspection I realized she was trying to nurse but unsuccessfully. She has problems latching on. So I have been bottle feeding her every 2-3 hrs. Today they are 10 days old and the runt has only gained 1 oz. All of the other pups are 3x bigger than her. I have an appt this afternoon with a vet for the runt to make sure she isnt sick and that we just need to tube feed her until she catches up. PLEASE god let that be the case because losing one puppy made me cry for hours & that was humane. If we lose our runt as well my heart will break all over again. We have decided not to breed Morgan & Optimus again. There is so much happiness and heart break in raising puppies.

This is the morning they were born

This is 10 day old piglets

Pregnant emotional rant

Working from home... Every mom thinks this could possibly be the best thing EVER! You still contribute to the income making you still feel useful. You get to be with your children ALL day and still take advantage of cleaning your home off and on.
Preconceptions are amazing things. My job isn't like that at all. I WORK all day. Like any normal out of home job. My son gets ignored all day and has become amazing self sufficent. He is being raised by Sprout. My home is destroyed by the time 5pm rolls around. Most days I try to get out of the house on my lunch break; just so I am not stuck in here all day. On days when Cooper and I aren't meshing well its 10 times worse because I am busy and he in my face or just being a 3 yr old and generally irritating. To top off all of this wonderfulness being pregnant throws tiredness and general emotional wreak into the picture.
Most days when Kris gets home I try to be atleast showered and possibly have my hair done. I dont want him to think I am a complete lazy ass by sitting around in my pj's all day. Kris's job doesn't help out at all. He works in sales and is talking on the phone all day. When he gets home he wants to eat dinner and then plop on the couch and rest. He likes silence. This doesn't work for me either. I want to kick him in the butt. TALK to me please!! YOUR son has been driving me nuts all day!! I just cooked dinner YOU clean up!! It amazes me how he can think that because I have been home all somehow my life is easier. Noway man! Its at least twice as hard as your job yet I am still expected to be the same when he is home. Even his friends have agreed with me.
If you can't tell today is one of those days. I figured this was a good place to rant.

Nat

Doctor Run down

My first appt with my doc was last Monday so I thought I would post about it now. :)
I really like her! She works and delivers in St.Marks which isn't too far from our hacienda. She made time to sit and run through all things that we need to be extra careful of this pregnancy. Just little things like diet control and checking my blood pressure when I am at the grocery store will help. She is going to treat this pregnancy like a high risk preg starting at 22 weeks. I will go in every 2 wks starting then and then move up to every week at 30 wks. So I will have almost twice the amount of visits and I am not even having twins. It will cost us more but as long I dont go through delivering another baby at 29 weeks it is well worth the $$. We will have a normal ultrasound at 20 weeks and then every other visit I will go to Fetal Maternal Medicine and they will do a fetal scan to make sure the baby is growing at a normal rate. This is all because even though Coop was born at 29 wks he measured at a 27 wk baby. Also fetal scans will help in early detection of toxemia. For those who dont know this is why I had Cooper so early because I had severe toxemia set in over 2 days and by the time we got sent to the hospital it was too late to get my blood pressure down. Very scary experience but we are so blessed that Cooper hasn't had any major problems from early delivery.
Needless to say I feel really good about everything my doc had to say and am looking forward to a healthy happy baby at the end!

P.S. My mom has threatened to move in at the first sign of trouble. So its another incentive to stay healthy. Luv ya ma ;)

Just an update

I know I haven't posted in a while but there hasn't been anything to awfully exciting. But now there is! I finally get to quit my night job!! YEAH I am so excited. I get to quit because we are expecting another Ottley to join our clan on August 19th. Its super hard to function off 7ish hours of sleep when pregnant. For me anyway! I am tired all the time. Also its really weird that I have been COLD since before I found out I was pregnant. If you know much about me I am hot blooded. Always always warm or even hot. Now I find myself in the opposite boat and its weird. But big fuzzy socks and naps in the sun are my new best friends. I am also debating actually buying a snuggie so I can sit at my computer and wear a blanket!! :)