Temptation!!!

I am into the 2nd week on my diet, still stalled at the same weight for 6 days, but not gaining anything back. I haven't been tempted by anything that would make me stray from my diet, even when other people around me are having chips or sweets. We were even at Cathy & Brent's house last week and everyone had some Bluebell ice cream, but I turned it down, no problem!!! Then, Cathy & Brent came over on Saturday to eat at our house and they brought some Bluebell ice cream, and again, no problem! I went and got my sugar free jello and was as happy as I could be. But then they left it here. That is when the trouble started. Sunday morning, i'm thinking about that ice cream in my freezer. I never looked at it, but Brent said it was a new Bluebell flavor, Candy Jar. That sounds interesting, but it probably has some jelly beans or something in it, but I can resist that. But then I remembered he said something about peanut butter cups, so I decided to go look at the carton. This was a big mistake! Not to ruin your diet, but just so you can share in my pain, here is what it says: Candy Jar - Caramel Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Cups, Chocolate and Caramel Chunks, Peanut Brittle, and Chocolate Crisp Pieces. Woah. And it's IN MY FREEZER!!!!!!! I told myself that "if" I somehow mess up my diet, then i'd eat some ice cream, then start the diet back tomorrow. Then I started of thinking of ways to mess up my diet!!! I made it through the evening and didn't touch the stuff, and last night, Walter came in the kitchen looking for a snack and opened the refrigerator. I asked "what are you getting??" because I knew if it was the ice cream, it was all over and I was having some too. He said "watermelon, why?" I said, "I was hoping you weren't getting that ice cream because I can't resist it." He said, "me either!!" He suggested we drive it down to Cathy's house and give it back, but it was kind of late, so I'm sending it home with her today!!!! Whew!!!!!! It has more carbs in 1/2 cup than I am supposed to eat in 2 days! Maybe I will treat myself to a bowl of it SOME day, but it would just wreck all my hard work if I get into it now! But as for my diet, today I had 3 pieces of bacon for breakfast, leftover grilled steak with sauteed mushrooms for lunch, and will have left over roast for dinner. My friend, Lesley, and her husband, Mike, are starting the Atkins diet today and I'm so excited to see how well they do on it!! Good luck Lesley & Mike!!!

So, Cameron's dad picked him up early this morning and it's all quiet in the house. I really don't like it when he is gone, but I've gotten used to it over the years (we've been doing this for 12 years now), and I have learned to enjoy the time to myself, but I do miss him being here. It is so nice now that everything is ok when he's at his dad's house. It didn't use to be that way with his wicked step-mother, but after 3 years of counseling and his dad being pretty certain of losing his 50/50 custody, his dad stepped up and told the wicked witch to mind her own business (he had been letting her do all the parenting), and things are great now. I asked Cameron once if things are better between him & her and he said "no, I just ignore her now." Wow. I would feel bad for her, but the way she treated my son was unacceptable and I refuse to associate with her at all. I don't know how someone could be mean to a child, especially one like Cameron who really is a sweet kid and doesn't cause any trouble. Anyway, he loves to go there now and I think he has his dad to himself when he's there now (I can imagine how happy that marriage is).

I am getting ready for my FIVE little friends tomorrow afternoon for a big ole slumber party. I am trying to think like my new friend, Mere. You know, the whole, "what would Mere do?" I have a 13 year old girl, 8 year old boy, 7 year old girl, 6 year old boy, and 5 year old girl to entertain, so i'm trying to think about all of them. So far, I have the DVR recording enough movies that we will be able to come to some agreement on one or two of them. I am recording:

• Looney Tunes: Back in Action
• Free Willy
• Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island
• Muppets From Space
• Happy Feet

All of them love to draw and make things, so i've got my art supplies and huge sticker collection out. Working as a school counselor, I have plenty of that type of stuff. I also have Landen's toy box that is full of fun things. My only rule about that is the LOUD toys can only be used OUTSIDE!!! Yikes!!! I bought Landen a set of musical instruments for his birthday last year assuming he would want to keep them at HIS house, but luckily for me, he wants to keep them HERE!! We also have the pool and the boat, so between all of that, I think we will have a fun time. I am also making a HUGE pitcher of kool-aid so the kids don't drink all of the soft drinks in the fridge and end up staying up all night!! I think it is so awesome that my grandson and my best friend, Dana's grandkids play together and I'm glad that all the kids love to come here!!

I went over our new budget this weekend and was very pleased! We are 1/2 way through the month and I did not have to transfer any money from our savings to our checking, which is great! We have only eaten out ONCE each week, which is amazing. I am really working to keep up with our spending and the budget and hopefully we can start building our savings back up.

Questions & Comments:
Tam asked if Elizabeth's adoption was an open one and if I knew the people who adopted her. The answer is no. My obstetrician had a patient who was unable to have children and made the arrangements privately. I had gone to some adoption agencies where I could pick the parents, but I was scared that I would pick the best looking people or the ones with the most money, and I really just wanted my baby to have parents who loved her, so when my doctor told me she knew someone, I felt good trusting her decision. I did ask to receive pictures throughout my daughter's life (because I knew the adoption agencies did that) and the adoptive parents said no!! I almost changed my mind, but I couldn't make myself hurt these people who had already been told they would be able to adopt the baby. Not to mention, I guess they knew we'd all be living within 30 miles of each other and if I'd known what she looked like, I would have likely recognized her in public. I know that if i'd known where she was, I would have surely been driving past her house trying to see her!! After we met (which her mother was very opposed to) and got to know each other a little bit, her mother gave me a video of the first few years of Elizabeth's life, which was incredible for me to see. She also allowed me to scan all of Elizabeth's baby and childhood pictures.