And while I sleep, per'chance to dream...

I'm struggling to go back to sleep and catch a last few desperately needed minutes in the grey twilight of what promises to be another glorious autumn morning.  Instead my to-do list of shopping, packing and work projects that must be completed before leaving for England are running through my head in the peculiar (and unwanted at 6 am) energy buzz unique to overwhelming stress. Is it unusual to be leaving on a 2 1/2 month trip in less than 72 hours and not be packed yet? Apparently so, from the reactions of people I talk to.  But then, the pants must be hemmed and the clothes must be CLEAN before being packed-outcomes yet to be achieved. And it is also highly recommended that one pack climate appropriate clothing specific to one's destination. I have a permanent puzzled frown outdoors these days, as I try to guess...how cold is 60? Do I like 60? What about 50? Sweater, jacket, coat, parka? (The average in England for Oct-Nov is 45-60 degrees). Not to mention the brutal triage that must be practiced on all of my lovely, newly-fitting clothes. Since I lost weight I am in love with the way I look in everything (59 pounds off your butt can make you a faulty judge of which pants looks best...as they ALL look MUCH better!). Ergo, I want to pack all-of-them, and have resorted to using my sister in Alabama as the triage enforcer via face-time. It's just that this unwieldy packing method takes yet more time. I'm starting to have nightmares about missing our transatlantic flight. Meanwhile, Richard has nightmares of his own. I finally surrender to the stress and rise, although my angst-filled tossing has already awoken him. Upon my return from the bathroom he turns to me and says "I was dreaming I was dying of exposure! Then I woke up and looked over, and all the blankets were wrapped around YOU."

Baby-Luv (It's the Nieces this time)

We had a fun chance to see our two latest nieces on Richards' side of the family in the last couple of days. Leah and baby Kate have been staying with us, and Moira and baby Emily came with her big brother Joseph and Grandma and Grandpa Goering for a quick lunch stop yesterday.   Emily and Kate were 3 days apart according to their due dates, but Emily came 2 1/2 weeks early, and Kate came 3 weeks late, making them exactly 6 weeks apart, to the 10 minutes! Emily is very unusually small for her age, and Kate is very unusually chubby for hers, making them an adorable, but unexpected pair.

Baby Kate (younger), Aunt Letty, Baby Emily (older)

Rich and Baby Kate

Check out the video of Richard and baby Kate playing 'plague victim' at the following link!
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150825121310173&saved'

Emerson Checks Out Grandma Preston

It only took a hot-minute for the first-time Grandma to make it to Texas! I think she probably got out and pushed the airplane. Just a few more quick pics, because I can't get enough of my 

AWESOME NEPHEW
Mr. Emerson Dean!

Seriously Algot, making Mom this happy probably earns you brownie points for the next million years.

Mr. Emerson Dean!

Emerson and Tired Daddy

Mr. Emerson Dean in his Sunday Best!

 

My 1st Nephew: Most Adorable Baby EVER!!

My brother Algot and his wife Alisha just had the most adorable baby boy in the WORLD!! I'm sure I will probably think my future kids are cuter when they finally arrive...but until that time-Emerson wins it for me hands down! Emerson Dean Preston entered the world September 9th, 2011. He weighed 9 lbs 6 oz and was 22 inches long. Just goes to show us Preston's are good eaters!! He's starting out life right as a southern boy! He lives with his Mommy and Daddy and big sister Avery in Dallas, Texas.

As the very first Grandbaby on our side of the family he is destined to be irreparably spoiled and cosseted. He might even become the very first infant dictator. His aunts (myself, Ann and Rose) are already nuts about him and can't get enough pictures! The measly five included in the post are all we have up to this point. After watching me turn the pictures into my Ipod and Desktop screen savers, and whip my phone out to show people at every available moment, my husband cautiously inquired "Um, sweetheart, you do understand that he is not YOURS, right?" Sigh. So speaks the man with 10 nieces and nephews of his own already.















I can't WAIT to hold him and kiss those chubby cheeks! But I will have to wait until I get back from England, as he was so inconsiderate NOT to make an early appearance (probably busy eating) and showed up a mere two weeks before we head out for Europe.

Richard and Rachel Graduate!

As the only 2 members of the family whose names start with "Arrrr-" Richard and Rachel have long been secret pirate adventurers.

Ok, so this post is very late in coming, but this summer was kinda crazy intensely busy. In June, both Richard and his littlest sister, Rachel graduated. Richard graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with his Masters of Arts in International Affairs (he was writing his thesis for this degree simultaneous with his MBA at University of Chicago Booth School of Business-he is about midway through this 3rd degree). Anyway, we were THRILLED to get one degree polished off so we could be a little less crazy around here. Rachel from graduated from high school the following week in Iowa, and we drove up to see the family and our newest niece, as well as get some great pictures of the two graduates.

Left to Right: Richard, Letty, Mom Goering, Rachel, Dad Goering, Mark Goering, Leah Goering holding baby Kate Goering, and Danny

The proud parents of their 13th high school graduate, Ken and Maureen must be heaving a secret (or not-so-secret) sigh of profound relief. All of them college bound or college graduated, all of them students or gainfully employed, and all of them respected, contributing members of their community. What a way to define success! Way to go Mom and Dad Goering! We are just as excited for your accomplishment as for Rachel's and Richard's!

Dad, Rachel and Mom Goering

Wedding Photo Booth Fun

Recently our friends Morgan and Ben got married and had a photo booth at their reception. Needless to say, Richard and I had a BLAST goofing around. Here are some of our proudest moments.

On My Way to the BBB!!

Okay, so I didn’t really want to say anything until I was sure I was going to be successful. Because, yes, I am prideful. Also-probably vain. However, I am now proud to announce that I have lost 57 pounds since January 1^st, 2011! What was the impetus for this dramatic lifestyle change? Well, essentially, it began with the quest to achieve a BBB. (Better-Babymaking-Bod). Apparently, pregnancy is not so healthy a hobby to pick up if you are overweight. Doctors started throwing around scary terms like ‘toxemia,’ ‘gestational diabetes,’ and 'high-risk pregnancy.’

I figured since my womb was already a bit on the ‘old’ side for a first-time-mom (over thirty) due to factors beyond my control (Prince Charming took his sweet time) it was in the best interests of myself and my future baby to start controlling the factors I could. Which, in my case, was first and foremost the weight of the mother. I was 5 ft. 6 inches and 210 pounds, more than 60 pounds beyond the maximum recommended weight for my height. When I started factoring in pregnancy weight gain, even though it could potentially be less than what an average-weight woman should gain, things began to look very scary on the health side of things. The last thing I wanted was to spend my first pregnancy completely bull-dozed due to preventable health issues. I had also just been diagnosed with the early stages of degenerative disk disease, and had just blown out a disc in my low-back. To sum up, I had one of the worst Babymaking Bods possible.

Unfortunately the quest for a Better Babymaking Bod did not start smoothly. I started counting calories and walking 3 miles a day, and managed to lose about 4 pds in 4 months. Obviously, I was not very good at weight loss, or controlling cravings. I could not remember EVER weighing less than my husband, or walking up a flight of stairs next to him without puffing embarrassingly at the end. We had just about given into despair and decided to attempt to conceive regardless of the risks when our family chiropractor and homeopathic doctor introduced me to the homeopathic version of HCG. This is a highly controversial diet, to anyone in the know. However, I trusted this doctor and had been immensely helped by him before, so I decided I would give the diet a try, with my Dad along as a dieting partner. A big draw for me was that this doctor carefully monitored the diet, and administered bi-monthly UAs to make sure that your kidneys weren't shutting down.

The weight started coming off almost at once, and continued incredibly fast. Oddly enough, the incredibly restrictive diet was much easier to follow than any other diet I have ever tried. Probably because there were almost NO choices to make, and no substitutions to make. There was absolutely NO WAY to cheat. As Yoda would say, ‘Do or Do Not, there is no Try.” You either followed the diet, or did not. And marvelously, wonderfully, I didn’t feel crazy hunger pains, I had no weakness or dizziness, or any of the sick headaches that have happened every other time I cut my calories drastically.

I lost 22 pounds my first time through the diet, and with 6 week breaks to make sure I was able to maintain my weight at the end of each restricted calorie phase, I am now (at the time of this writing) only 3 pds away from what my OBGYN says is considered 'healthy' for my height. I can now finally wear the boxes and boxes of fabulous clothes that I hadn’t fit into for ages. (Or EVER-girls who sometimes buy slightly-too-small clothes because they are a ‘steal’ can relate to this). For ONCE my pack-rat tendencies paid off, and my husband is loving the entire wardrobe I kept in smaller sizes, or rather, loving not having to pay for a trip to the mall. I hope to finish the HCG diet right at 149 pounds, just barely within the upper reaches of the recommended weight parameters for my height. AKA-rockin’ babymaking bod!!