Brainstorming

I have had quite a few interests in joining me on my weight loss journey... i have been brainstorming ideas on ways that will motivate me to lose weight. in the past, i always had a goal. one year, it was the Broad Street run. another year, it was my wedding day. and another year, it was my brother's wedding. i have nothing "big" to motivate me this year, so i had to come up with a plan. tim and i brainstormed ideas at each 5 pound benchmark.

let me explain our plan... we came up with an ultimate weight loss goal and then came up with something big we both want... and then for every five pounds we lose getting to that point, we will be rewarded with something not food related.

5 pounds- a yankee candle
10 pounds- eye brows waxed
15 pounds- purchase a favorite item at ULTA
20 pounds- a manicure
25 pounds- a pedicure
30 pounds- a new outfit
35 pounds- a night away with Tim at a hotel
40 pounds- a new outfit
45 pounds- a full body massage
50 pounds- a weekend away with Tim

i would like to lose fifty pounds... ugh. that feels like a ton. but this journey will go until the end of June. yep. you heard right, this is not 8 weeks. or 12 weeks. this is 6 months. i will be blogging daily to keep everyone up to date on the progress of this journey.

if you are interested in joining with me, brainstorm some things that you would like to work towards. i was lucky to get some gift cards to put towards some of those things on the list so it shouldn't cost too much money for everything. maybe you want a book, or a night out at the movies, or how about a song to download on itunes or a video game.

i am still trying to figure out the best way to start losing weight... i have done slim fast, weight watchers, and just counting calories in the past... i am sure i will be picking one of those methods but still not set on one yet. i will let everyone know my plan before the new year. good luck with your brainstorming and have a wonderful sunday!

(I caught him playing with the wipes and this is the face i got!)

landon's christmas story

christmas and babies go together like oreos and milk. it is a perfect mix. christmas has always been my favorite holiday... but throw in a six month old and it becomes even more magical. we had a wonderful christmas weekend celebrating with family. i always get the post christmas blues when everything is all over but this year i can cuddle and squeeze a baby to recover!

christmas eve was spent with my brother and his wife and all her family... our little babies (they have twin boys!) played with new toys but had more fun grabbing at each others' faces and pulling on clothes. we had a nice sit down dinner and you can just feel the christmas excitement in the air. 

landon was super excited for santa to arrive and woke up bright and early on christmas morning. tim made us hot chocolate and we gathered around the tree to begin opening presents. landon, of course, enjoyed the wrapping paper but his all time favorite gift was his soft Elmo book! 

we ended the day with a delicious dinner at my parents' house which included crab cakes and roast beef tenderloin. we all went to bed early that night and were looking forward to getting back on a somewhat schedule the next day.

stay tuned for my typical new years resolution. the resolution i do EVERY year (well except for the year i was pregnant.) i am focused and ready. it is time to try to lose twenty pounds (or more) for the ninth time. who wants to join me on my journey? my aunt and tim are already on board!! 

hope your family had a wonderful christmas and enjoyed the christmas cheer!

Landon's Hearing Journey

I thought I would try to organize blog post entries to follow our hearing journey. i want to look back at our miracle and NEVER forget it. i am so happy that i blogged and documented as much as i did during this time...

Can you hear me now?!

Unanswered Questions

Audiologist Phone Call

First ENT appointment

Are you listening?!

Second ENT appointment

Tubes

Third ENT appointment

Our Christmas Miracle

a christmas miracle.

i don't even know where to begin. it has been a very emotional day... but a GOOD emotional day.

i have been praying for landon's ears since july. i have been praying for God to open up those ears. for God to bless those little ears. last night, i prayed a little differently. i prayed, of course, for God to bless his little ears... but i also prayed for me to accept whatever news we received and to give me guidance on how to handle his hearing loss...

landon went to his appointment this morning with me, tim and my mom in tow. we were the same three that were with him when we found out in july about landon's hearing loss. he had an appointment with the same audiologist who assessed him in july. she clearly explained that the test he was going to be given would determine if he had normal hearing in each ear... and if he didn't pass, we would have to sedate him and give him another hearing test and to really determine the loss.

my eyes welled with tears as the audiologist placed the ear bud in his left ear. about two minutes later, she said "that ear hears beautiful." BEAUTIFUL!!! my mom and i lost it a little and i was so thankful that he has beautiful hearing in one ear... people can hear fine with one ear!

then, she confirmed what dr. j said about the right ear. no amount of fluid would show the severity that we see in landon's right ear results... so prepared and expecting the worst, she put the ear bud in his right ear and tears streamed down my face. after about two minutes she said, "the right ear hears great too!" she was completely boggled by the drastic change of results. she was as shocked as we were. she had no explanation for the change.

we will continue following up with hearing tests every three months to make sure those ears are doing their jobs.

thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. i knew of so many of you who were praying for him daily and putting him in prayer chains. we are blessed... we got to experience a christmas miracle.

i sang landon to sleep tonight and for the first time i KNEW he was hearing me.

God bless and Merry Christmas from the Odgers'!

it has been a while...

i have had many people wonder when i was going to get blogging again. i apologize for not keeping everyone up to date with Landon. he is doing REALLY good and Tim and I are just adoring him. we simply can't get enough of his precious face.

landon has hit some big milestones over the past few months. he now eats solids, rolls over and sits like a champ. his favorite thing to do is sit. he will sit and play with a toy for sometimes thirty minutes. over the past couple of months, he has also developed a nice schedule. i LOVE a schedule. it must be a teacher thing.

he is still wearing his helmet. he will probably be wearing it for at least four more months since his head was so severe. his noggin is look better and he is looking good with the helmet. i have enjoyed blinging it every month. i just changed it up for the holidays...he is now ready for santa!

torticollis is coming along. it is a long process that i am just learning to accept and work with. his tilt is looking good and he is able rotate his neck more to the left every week. his physical therapist is EXCELLENT and she has been showing me lots of exercises and stretches to do with him at home.

and finally, an ear update. landon's ears were checked by dr. j today and they are all clear and ready to go for his next hearing test... which happens to be tomorrow.  we haven't had a hearing test done since he was six weeks old and that is when we were given the devastating news that our little baby has severe hearing loss and both ears were abnormal... so needless to say i am a little nervous. but tim and i are ready to accept any news we are given and keep moving forward with landon. we will do anything to help him succeed in this world.

i hope to get an update on the hearing results by christmas. thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. we are lucky to have wonderful family and friends like you!