major school skipping....

Jonathan came home from school with a fever yesterday. Went right into his room and crawled into his bed. When he came out an hour later, he had That Look. The glassy eyes and the flushed cheeks...so it is a given he would stay home today. Well, this morning his temperature is only 96.7! Unless our thermometer is broken. He looks fine, feels fine.

Charlotte Claire feels fine, too, but she has a huge swollen gland in front of her ear, and says her ear hurts a little. I found it last night when I was tucking her into bed, so I decided to keep her home today too, and call the dr. I then decided to let Sonja have a day off too, since she would hate going "alone" on the second trip bus...

So I tried to sleep in. I turned off my alarm and dozed back off. Paul woke me up say I hadn't gotten up. I explained to him I was just going to sleep for a while, and would he please ask Sam to take Rosie out just for a minute to pee? I tried to relax again...then Mali texted me and said the Kitten had gotten outside when she was leaving and they didn't have time to get him in, she was upset and wanted me to make sure he got in...blah. I had to get up.

So...Rosie has been walked, Kitty Kitten is safe and sound, the School Skippers are playing Just Dance on the Wii (Camille is hilarious, dancing in her clumsy way in her princess nightgown). Jon just mentioned that the rule is when they skip school they can't play video games or go on the computer. I told him that is only when they tell me they don't feel good, or fuss in the morning and stay home...today they are legitimately home, except for Sonja, but that was my decision, not her whining and getting to stay home. So they get to play. Jon couldn't be happier, he gets to play, "My Tonka Garage" on the computer.

We had ravioli and pasta and sauce for dinner last night, with hot sausage on the side (so vegetarian Mali could eat the sauce), and green beans. I ate my usual plate of green beans with sauce instead of pasta. Then I cut up an apple and put brown sugar and cinnamon on it, microwaved it for a few minutes...heavenly yum. I shared with Jon and Mali. Then later I forgot I had already had that, and made hot-air popcorn. With lots of real butter. Now popcorn is not "bad" for me, but...all things in moderation, right? I have trouble with moderation with popcorn. I had two princesses on the arms of my chair sharing with me and talking, but I ate most of it. It was so good and buttery and salty....blah, afterward I felt so repentant and blah. Calories upon calories...I cannot do that. My weight goes down, goes back up, goes down a little more, it takes just forever, and I am the same weight I was a few weeks ago. With my exercising and walking a mile every single day, briskly, I should be losing a few pounds a week with the number of calories I take in.

I am expressing my frustration at the lack of progress, but I shall continue because I have hope that I will be able to get through this and get thin again. I don't so much care about how I look, I just have gotten a taste of having more energy and being able to do things, and long for more. I want to ride a bike with Jonny!

Here are the good things that have come from my sufferings so far:

1. No more heartburn. When Mali and I left the E.R. the other night, we stopped at Subway and I ate a half of a Buffalo Chicken sub with extra Buffalo sauce. Five months ago, I would have had to sleep in my chair after having something like that. But I slept all night with not a single bit of heartburn.

2. My blood pressure is lower...nice and low.

3. I can wear smaller clothes.

4. More energy.

5. My knees hurt WAY less than they used to.

6. My feet didn't swell in the heat this summer.

7. I feel like I have more control over my life...instead of going to bed every single night promising myself I will do things better tomorrow, I go to bed knowing I did my best to eat right...except for the Popcorn Binge, and various other glitches...but you get the idea...in general, I know I am finally doing something good for myself, and it feels so good...

8. I love the feeling of being sore from exercising. Just love it.

9. I have discovered this: I will not die from denying myself. Although it darn well feels like it sometimes.

10. The effect this has had on the rest of my family has been good, I don't buy as much junk...

So...off I go to call the dr. and put in some laundry and all those other things that make up my ever so exciting life.....