Day 48- I almost

I almost skipped writing again today... I am damn tired. Last night I was up to re-bink little lady at 1, get little man re-situated at 2, feed little lady at 3, then search the house for little mans damn "holly" car... He decided that he NEEDED it to sleep at 4 am... Sigh. I am so damn tired I can't seem to finish a...
Oh today we got our "apple" TV.. So I am pretty excited about that... I think we are officially apple whores. Anything that apple comes out with I NEED and can talk my husband into getting because its just damn cool... If only Apple would come out with some diamond earrings...
My inlaws come tomorrow, it will be nice to have visitors again so soon! I am going to try to keep writing while they are here, and hopefully not fall off the earth again... though sleep depravation has made me a little loopy, did I tell you I almost...

Day 47-off the grid

Ok.. so this isn't actually day 47..  I have missed a few days.  My mom was in town and I really just needed a mini-vaction from writing.  But I am back!  I am going to try to keep writing every day,  the longer I go without writing, the more stumped I am for ideas to write about.
It was so nice to have my mom and her fiance here for a few days, we haven't seen any family since we had been home for Christmas.  I was starting to go a little crazy.  We hung at the house saturday, had some MUCH needed drinks saturday night, shopping sunday, followed by a date night Sunday night.  My husband and I actually got out to see an ADULT movie, and dinner without a little person yelling, or taking food off our plate. It was pretty nice!  Yesterday they left, so I was in my usual "post visitor" depression all day.. but today we had a play date so I am feeling OK again.
I will say that I ate like CRAP while my mom was here, so I am REALLY not looking forward to the big weigh-in tonight!!

Day 46-Disclaimer and Apology

A few weeks ago I wrote A letter to moms who bring their sick kids on play dates.. it wasn't pretty.  I was sleep deprived, annoyed, and probably came off like a total bitch.  While I still stand behind everything I said in that letter, I do need to make a disclaimer... and a public apology.

This morning I got an email from a friend that we had a play date with that week.  She was worried that I was talking about her, because she thinks her daughter may have had a slight runny nose that day.  My heart fell to my stomach, I feel terrible that she feels like it was about her.  When I was writing that blog, I meant to put in a disclaimer that it wasn't about any of my friends. I did not even know the moms that I was writing about, they just really pissed me off. We had a few play dates in public places that week as well, play gyms etc.  As a general rule, I don't blog about my friends.  It is so hard to find mommy friends that you really get along with, so if we are friends, I am going to protect that friendship as the rarity that it is, and I promise not to put you on blast on my blog.

So I want to apologize to any friends that I may have offended.. I am truly sorry.. but just know the blogs are not about you!  And if I am not friends with you and I offended you?  Well.. I am ok with that ;)

Day 45- week 5/6 update

Last week out meeting with SFT and the lovely ladies of FC was canceled because it was valentines day. It was nice to be able to spend the night with my family, and indulge in some non-whole wheat pasta! I have been a little more relaxed in my diet over the past 2 weeks, I was still following the lower carb(ish) and high protein plan.. But I did indulge in a few sugary sweets... Well, it showed last night at my weigh in. Over the past two weeks, even though I have been working my ass off on the elliptical and Pilates, I only lost a pound. I told myself that I was gaining muscle weight, but I am kinda thinking it is because I snuck in some cookies, few chocolates, and that dinner of regular pasta. But that's ok, I am
Sticking with the plan, getting back on the wagon, and I am going to lose the extra 10 lbs.
I can say that in the beginning of this I could barely stay on the elliptical for 20 minutes without feeling like I was going throw up a lung.. Now I can easily do 40, but then I get bored. So now I am on a quest to find something I enjoy doing more than running on a hamster wheel staring at a basement wall... But no matter what... Last 10 lbs... Your going down!

Today I am thankful for Gray always making me laugh. Today he found a toy car wheel on the floor, I asked him to throw it away, and he looked at me, completely appalled, and totally serious and said "mommy! I can't throw this away! It costs money!"

Day 44- Rules to bridging the gap between mommies and their child-less friends

It happens to the best of friends.  One day you are best buds, then your friend, who was once as enthusiastic about shopping, girls nights, and gossip as you...is suddenly in the world of diapers and sleepless nights.  Suddenly she doesn’t have the time (or energy) to gossip for hours about the newest celeb couples, to go shopping for the perfect shoes, or meet up for drinks after work.  Your best friend is now wearing mom jeans, has boogers in her hair, and takes days.. sometimes weeks to respond to your texts.

When I entered into the world of mommy-hood, I was one of the first of my friends.  Many articles that I read about bridging the gap between mommy-hood, and child-less friends pretty much said that it is all but impossible, and that I needed to find “mommy” friends.  Well F-that.  I just had a baby, I was F*cking exhausted.   I didn’t have time to make new damn friends!!  I liked the ones that I had, I wasn’t about to discard them because I chose to make a little shit and booger machine and they still had their freedom!  At times it was difficult to bridge the gap.. my child-less friends just didn’t *get it* sometimes.. but I had to stop and remember, before I had kids.. and I had FREEDOM.. I didn’t *get it* either.  I have decided to make a list of rules for friends to follow on bridging the gap.  Hopefully these rules will be able to help you keep friendships of your own.

Rules for Mommies:

*Do not ONLY talk about your baby.  Yes.. he is the MOST important thing in your life.  Your whole world, when you eat, sleep, shower, and go to the bathroom revolves around this new little person.  And your best friend LOVES your new little one as well, but you have to remember that her WHOLE world does not revolve around him.  Its ok to talk about your baby, but don’t let him be the ONLY thing you talk about.. you will bore the hell out of your friend.

*When you do talk about your baby, reserve talking about baby shit (literally) with your mommy friends.  (I was recently at a mommys only dinner.. and the conversation took a turn to baby turds.. totally acceptable with mommy friends.  No one flinched when we were openly talking about diarrhea at the dinner table)  Your child-less friends will not react so nonchalantly.. they quite frankly don’t care about your babies shit, the color, the texture, or the consistency.

*Make time to call/text/email your child-less friends.  Before you had your baby, you kept in contact daily, don’t fall off of the earth because the baby is here.  Chances are your friend is missing you, a LOT, let her know that even though your life is upside down.. you are missing her as well.

*Remember why you were friends in the first place and what your similar interests are.  Maybe fashion, celeb gossip, or martinis does not interest you all that much in your sleep-deprived state, (all you want to do is sleep damn it!).. but they are some things that you are your friend bonded over.  Make time to still chat about these things, it will show your friend that she is still important, and it will make you feel more human-like.. and less like a zombie with diaper cream crusted on your skinny jeans.

*Try to stay current in what is going on in their life.  Again, this goes back to not only talking about your baby, but make sure you take an interest in her life as well.  You might not think that the umpteenth fight she had with her boyfriend over who cleans the kitchen after dinner is that important in the grand scheme of things, but if it is important to HER, you should listen and let her know that you still care.

*Make time for adult-only time.  You love your baby more than anything.  Your friend loves your bundle of joy as well.  But you know what else your friend loves?  YOU.  Its hard to be YOU when you are constantly attending to the needs of your little bundle of joy, you will be distracted, unable to finish a thought (let alone a sentence) and that's not very good “quality” time with your friend.  If at all possible, if you have a sitter you are comfortable with, take advantage of it!  Leave the little one with your partner, a grandparent, cousin (just someone you trust) and get away for a little girl time!  I know it is hard to leave your little love, but trust me, you will be so  grateful to feel like an adult, and your friend will appreciate having some time with her friend!

Rules for Friends:

*Go visit your friend after she has the baby.  Maybe babies aren’t your “thing”... but for the love of god GO see your friend.  Having a baby is the BIGGEST thing that has happened in her life, so even if you deep down hate children, get your ass in your car and go support your friend.  Isolation after having a baby can be a factor in post-pardum depression, so if you love your friend, go make sure she knows that you are not going to abandon her because she now has a baby!

*Do not be offended if your friend falls off the earth briefly.  Your friend just had her whole world taken and dropped on his head.  Having a baby changes everything, your friend’s entire schedule is being determined by a little person, so if she doesn’t text/email/call for a few weeks, try not to be offended.  She still loves you,  your friend is still in the sleep-deprived, booger-crusted, shell of a person, be patient!

*Make time for kid-friendly activities.  In my rules for mommies I asked mommies to make time for adult time, but you also need to make time for baby.  This little person is THE most important thing to your friend, and if you don’t make time to make your friend feel like this little extension of herself has a place in your life too, you can pretty much kiss your friendship good-bye.  

*Do not be offended if your friend has to bail on you to tend to her baby.  Maybe you guys had awesome plans to go to a concert of your favorite band, or maybe drinks on a friday night, but 2 hours before you need to leave your friend calls and says she has to cancel because the baby is sick, or the sitter bailed.  I know it is disappointing.. believe me  your friend is disappointed too.  Guilt tripping your friend is NOT going to help the situation.

*Don’t count her out for adult-only activities.  Yes, maybe she has had to cancel a few times because of baby-related mishaps.. but you should always give her the option to tag along to the hip new restaurant, or other fun adult-only outing.  Do not assume that because it is not a baby-friendly activity, your friend will not want to go, just give her enough time to find a sitter.  Chances are, your friend is probably starved for some adult activity!

*Do not give unsolicited baby advice!!  Maybe you have read all of the baby books, know all of the theories, and are a early-childhood expert... but please.. please.. please.. do not give your friend advice on how to parent her baby (unless she specifically asks you)  Until you have had a little one of your own, its kinda like women saying they know what its like to have a penis... we really have no clue.  Your friend likely has a parenting style all of her own (and even if you disagree with it) its best to keep your opinions to yourself.. it will likely only piss her off.  (and she is likely sleep deprived.. and looking to snap at any minute)

I hope that you can implement these rules to keep your life-long friendships.  Feel free to share this list with your child-less friends!

Day 42 and 43

I completely forgot to write yesterday, it was a pretty uneventful day.. We just hung around the house all day. I wanted to take little man ice skating, but I completely forgot it was Sunday until 4:00 and the session was over.

Today dereck had off for family day... Again we didn't do too much. I spend allllll day working on a portrait drawing. It was nice a spend a whole day doing art, but I need to stop procrastinating so damn much! I am supposed to give it to the client tomorrow, and I did the whole damn thing today. That reminds me... I need to up my prices.. This drawing took me about 7 hours, so I barely made minimum wage on it... I'm attaching it... But after I posted it on FB I got an email from someone asking for 2 portrait drawing. While I am not making a killing on my work.. It is nice to be something other than mommy for a change :)

Day 41- the end of binkies

We have been telling our almost 3 year old for a year now that he is too old for binkies and he needed to be done with them. We got him down to only night time use, then we got lazy. Him using his bink meant he was quiet, and soothing himself to sleep. We didn't have to deal with tears, or fighting, it was just easy. But as he nears his third birthday, we knew it was time. We had been talking about a strategy for weeks on how to accomplish the task... The plan? Have little man gather all of his binkies, take him to the toy store, and tell him can pick out any toy he wants... We were desperate, we would have really bought any toy. So today, as I got ready to do my weekly outing of grocery shopping/errands alone, (my ONLY alone time all week) my husband says to little man "hey! Why don't you go get all your binkies, and you can buy a new toy with it! You can go shopping with mommy!"... And just like that... I lost my alone time... But this time I was Ok with it if it meant that little man would willingly give up his bink.
So we gather all of the binkies, get him dressed and ready to go, and head to the store. The whole way to the store he was chatting up a storm about how he was going to get a cool dinosaur toy, and give the lady his binks. We go and find the perfect toy, head to the register... Moment of truth... Little man willingly hands over his pacifiers! Phew! The cashier was so awesome about the whole thing, she made a huge deal about it and told little man she was so proud of him, as did the other customers in line. Seeing little mans face light up with a huge smile was worth missing my alone time this week.
After the toy store, we headed to the grocery store, and little man clutched into his new dinosaur the whole time, so proud of himself for being a big boy. When we got home little man tried to tell my husband that he could have a glass of wine because he was big now, we told him he had to be 21, and he said "I am 3... That's big enough!", then when we asked him if he was ready for bed he said, "no, im big now, I'm not going to sleep anymore." haha
I guess we will see how tonight goes, he was a little upset at bed time that he did not have his binkies, but he seemed to understand that he left them at the store. Now I will wish, hope, and pray that we all sleep tonight!

Post 40-expert

Since my overly opinionated, political, pissed off rant yesterday on how Chris Christie is failing public schools and the ignorance of some people, I have had two people request for me to write about topics. It seems as though some people are starting to think I am some kind of an expert, HA. Just so everyone is clear... I have no f*cking clue what I am doing most of the time, but it is nice that people are valuing my opinions... It's nice to know my thoughts are not waisted on an irrational 3 year old and a temperamental 6 month old. I have felt like a real person.. With real ideas.. And not just a large snot rag and poo-wiper. Next week I am going to tackle the two subjects I have been asked about, the guy who shot his daughters laptop, and how to maintain friendships with kid-less friends.

But for now my gratitude journal, I have been slacking in it lately!

Today I am grateful that somewhere out there my thoughts are being heard.

Day 39- A Pissing Contest

This isn’t my “usual” mommy blog.  This isn’t really about MY children.. but it is about children... so I am going to go with it.  Its much more political than I usually go, but those of you that know me, know that I have a very hard time biting my tongue when it comes to things I am passionate about... so here it goes....

My mom had up a post on her FB wall about the Governor of NJ making it mandatory that NJ flies its flags at half staff to honor Whitney Houston.  I am going to included my mom’s post, as well as my response.  I am going to leave out everyone else... except one lady who left a post on my response... but then deleted it because she didn’t want to start a “pissing contest” (her words) with me.  Now keep in mind I have NO idea who this woman is, but her response infuriated me SO much that I HAVE to put my response to her out there.  Also, please keep in mind that my mom’s FB is private, as is mine.  I took a few uncalled for stabs at Governor Christie, they were hits below the belt that really have nothing to do with his lack of competence as a position of power in the state of NJ.  Since I am now making my response public, I want to publicly apologize for the comments about his large ass.

My Mom’s FB Status:

Mom: OK so I was trying to let this go but those of you who know me know I can't let things go.. Let me start this by saying I am very sorry for Whitney Houston's. death. Her daughter will suffer for a long time because of her mothers addictions..
But Really Gov. Christie making it mandatory in the state of NJ to fly flags at half staff for Whitney is ridiculous. She was a singer not a Hero !!! how may flags have been flown half staff for our military hero's or dr's who save lives everyday??

Me: Really mom?? You can't let things go? haha.. now don't get me started on Christie! haha.. he is a total asshole tool-bag that has his priorities backwards and shoved up his own very very large ass.. You are right.. it is sad that she died. Addiction is a sad disease.. and its a shame that she lost her battle with it.. but like you said, she was not a hero... if NJ had its flags at half staff for every person that lost their battle with addiction.. it would never be a full staff. Maybe instead he should put funding BACK into school.. and into funding that gives kids an education of what the dangers of addiction can do.. put enough teachers in the class-rooms and hallways to really be able to monitor our youth and prevent them from falling into this cycle. There are so many poor districts in NJ that NEED the funding that HE cut... those kids can't get the education to break the cycle of addiction and crime in their poor neighborhoods... no lets not try to prevent problems by helping our youth.. lets as a state honor an addict. Asshole

And here is the response that was later deleted by the author.. again, I don’t know her, or anything about her. I am not going to include her name or initials, because I am posting this on my mom’s wall as well, if the person reads this.... she knows who she is:

"Richelle as far as putting the money into the poor districts it doesn’t work because these kids have no home life of home support n without that the schools cannot do their job properly n I am tired of paying for these parents that cant take care of their kids n raise them properly, all the money in the world cant stop their parents from their personal problems. The education is there they r not taking a hold on what they have in front of them. Education begins at home the teachers job is not to raise them.or teach them right from wrong! I am not a teacher!!!!! I am a dental assistant so don’t think Im saying this because I am a teacher!!!! Just a taxpayer tired of hearing about education for these kids!!!! I don’t always agree with everything Christie does either just saying!"

Ok.. I was going to let this go, but I literally lost sleep over this last night.  I know that she isn’t the only person that thinks this way.. so I just HAVE to throw my two-cents in there.  So Here I go.

To the person who left that message.. and anyone else that follows this line of thinking:

You really did not have to point out that you are not a teacher, it is very clear from your point of view of America’s troubles youth that you really do no know very much about NJ’s education system, nor do you care to fix it.  I will say that you are right in that a lot of the students that live in poor districts that are ridden with drug problems do not have a great home life.  They often have parents that are stuck in the cycle of drug addiction themselves, or that are in and out of jail for various reasons.  You are also right in that many of the parents in these situations do not know how to properly raise their children, they are stuck in an ongoing cycle of poverty, drug addiction, and crime... they themselves probably did not have the best upbringing.  But while you say this from the comforts of upper middle class, I am going to go ahead and assume that you have always lived an comfortable life.  You have probably never had to walk down streets on your way home from school and be scared for your life, you have never had to be terrified that when you came home from school you might find mom or dad overdosed in the living room.  You probably also never had the pressure of having to join a gang because that may be the only way you can get protection in your crime-ridden neighborhood.  I can say all of these things because while I do not know you personally, I know what school you went to, and it is not one of a poor community.  

So what do YOU suggest we, as a community do?  Do we tell those poor kids, sorry for your luck, sorry you got brought into the world by drug addict parents, sorry that you weren’t lucky enough to be born into the upper-middle class?  Sucks for you, but I am sick of my hard earned tax dollars paying for your education?  I am “tired of hearing about education for these kids?”... after all... if you were born into an unfortunate situation your just not worth it?

Unfortunately many of the students in poor districts hear from home that they are not worth it.. they are told they are a burden to their parents, and if they are not physically told, they feel it.  For many of these students, school is their safe haven.  Teachers and coaches are their heroes.  Unfortunately, yes, maybe students in poor districts do fall back into the cycle of poverty, drug abuse, and crime, but there are students that fight like hell to get out of there.  Those students would not have a chance in hell if it were not for the tax dollars that go into schools.  For some of these students, the only chance they have of getting out of the cycle is their education, and WE as a community owe it to them to give them the same one as those students LUCKY enough to be born into communities like the one that YOU lived in.

I was a teacher, so let me educate you on what happens when schools lose funding essential to educate their students.  The first thing that gets cut is after school activities.  I always hear the argument that “I don’t think my tax dollars should go to sports/clubs anyway, if a kid wants to play a sport his parents should have to pay for the equipment.”... This argument is all well in good in districts that the parents can afford to pay for extracurriculars, but unfortunately the poorest districts do not have this luxury.  Taking after school activities away is a death sentence to some of these students.  There was a teacher that I used to work with that always said football saved his life.  He grew up in a poor district, did not have the best home life, but he formed a great relationship with his football coach, and having something so do each day after school kept him off of the streets.  Football was his ticket out of the ghetto, and this is the case for many students in poor districts.  After school activities keep them busy, out of trouble, and off of drugs.

Next thing that gets cut is “extra” spending.  When I say extra spending I do not mean for a new luxurious teachers room, nor I have ever once walked the halls of a school and seen piles of money, your precious hard-earned tax dollars.. When I say extra spending,  I mean for new books, technology and various resources that students in affluent districts have the luxury of.  Many poor districts simply do not have up-to-date resources.  So when you say the “education is there”... its really not.  Its not the same education that is going on in the more well-off districts.  Taking funding away from these schools is telling these students, “you are not worth the same education, you are just going to waist it anyway.” 

And finally, when you take funding away from school, teachers get cut, as do coaches and various other essential staff.  You say “Education begins at home the teachers job is not to raise them or teach them right from wrong!”.. sure.. in a perfect world the education would start at home.  Parents would teach their children right from wrong.. but what if those parents never were never taught?  Teacher do more than teach a lesson for 40 minutes a class, teachers are mentors and roll models for so many students.  In these poorer districts, teacher are often the ONLY positive roll model in the student’s life.  Great teachers change lives, and in the cases of the students in less than fortunate situations, great teachers save lives, as do great coaches, and other school staff and faculty that is often on the chopping block when school funding is cut.  Cutting teachers means very large class sizes, prohibiting teachers to build one on one (sometimes life saving) relationships with students who so desperately need it.

So when you say “Richelle as far as putting the money into the poor districts it doesn’t work”... I would say, when then does work?  What is your master plan?  Because telling these students that they are SOL because of the cards there were dealt is not an option that I can get behind.  Maybe you suggest that we just buy them all crack pipes with your tax dollars?  Maybe they will all OD and the problem with be solved.. because obviously (to you),  those kids less fortunate are just not worth it.  That would certainly solve your problem of “hearing about education for these kids”, what an unfortunate “problem” for you, as you sit watching from upper middle class..really, truly, heartbreaking.

Day 38-Valentines Day... The Fantasy Vs. The Reality

If you are a parent... you know that Valentines day changes once you have kids.  Its no longer ALL about you and your significant other, you have made new little people to love so much that your heart just could pop.  Going out to dinner for V-day is not a luxury afforded to you.. unless you have a babysitter who has nothing better to do on V-day. (or if you are us.. NO baby sitter in the country at all)... I could go on and on about how things have changed.. but if your a parent.. you already know.

This is about valentines day with kids... the fantasy that was going to happened in my head... and then when ACTUALLY happened.

This is my first Valentines day as a mother of two, my first valentines day as a SAHM, and my first in a new country with no one I really know.  I knew that Valentines day was not going to include a romantic candle-lit dinner with my husband, with no sitter it is just not an option... so I decided I was going to make the best of this Valentines day with my little loves, as well as my big one.  This is how the day was going to go down... in my head:

~The kids and I would wake up, and I would make special heart-shaped pancakes for little man, and some fresh banana pure for little lady.  They were going to adore it, and adore me for being such a super-awesome mom.

~When little lady took her nap, little man and I were going to make special heart-shaped chocolate chip cookies for my husband. 

~Because little lady was going to take a nice 2 hour nap, I was going to set little man up with a movie after awesome-cooking baking, and I was going to take a shower, and even shave my legs!

~Upon waking up from her afternoon nap we would all hop in the car and go to a play date with one of Gray’s favorite friends.  I was going to bring a small plate of heart-shaped cookies for the little boy, and his mom (one of my only friends up here) was going to marvel at what a domestic goddess I am. (ok.. stop laughing and keep reading)

~After the play date, little lady was going to take her final nap when we got home, little man and I were going to play until my husband got home with take-out, 2 dozen red roses from a florist (not a grocery store) and new diamond earrings (I have only been hinting for 4 years)

~We would give the kids their Valentines gifts, and they love them, and us for being so awesome.

~We would all eat dinner together, little man was going to eat everything on his plate, as was little lady.  After dinner we would all indulge in the yummy heart-shaped cookies myself and little man made together.

~We would all retire to the family room, playing games until bed time, at at promptly 8:00pm, both kids would be sound asleep in their beds.. neither of them would put up a fight.. they were going to do this for me, because they love me, and its Valentines day.

Once the kids were asleep, my husband and I would curl up on the sofa, and watch a sappy movie, because he loves me and its Valentines day (damn-it!)

OK. Now for the reality.  If you know us personally, you should stop laughing now, and read on.  This is how it REALLY went down:

~The kids and I woke up, came downstairs, and I asked little man if he wanted pancakes.  He yelled, “YES!!  I LOVE PANCAKES!!” So I went to take the mix out, only to realize that it was almost empty... so I mixed the pancake mix with a little bit of flour and baking powder, how different could it be?  As I poured the cement-like batter onto the griddle, I quickly realized that I was not going to be able to shape them into hearts.  Little man is easy to please though, and after drowning them in syrup, he gobbled up two, plus a banana.

~I made little lady her fresh banana puree... and she spit it all out, looking at me like “WHY... WHY WOULD YOU FEED ME THAT SH*T!”

~Little lady took her nap and little man and I were about to make cookies.. only for me to realize that I forgot to get butter.  Damn it... But it was OK.. We could make chocolate covered strawberries!

~F*ck... I somehow messed up the chocolate.. I think I bought the wrong kind.. and it didn’t melt right... so what did I do?  I ate about a 1/2 cup of it.. there goes the diet!

~Little lady woke up from her nap early.. thats OK.. she would take her 2 hour nap later.

~Lunch with the kids-pretty uneventful-yay!

~Put little lady down for her afternoon nap, she would DEFINITELY sleep for 2 hours this time!  I set little man up with a movie, he told me he was “SO SLEEPY” and needed a nap.. until I told him I was taking a shower.... then he insisted that he was “Very stinky, and he NEEDED a shower.”  There was no talking him out of it.... there goes shaving my legs.

~Little lady woke up after 40 minutes with a massive blow-out diaper... awesome... so I had to cancel our afternoon play date because little lady was going to need another nap right in the middle of it.

~I gave the kids their presents, little man told me “I LOVE THIS!!!”.. then two minutes later threw the stuffed monkey on the floor and said “I no yike this monkey... but i LOVE the chocolate.  Little lady chewed on the nose of her Minnie Mouse... I guess that means she likes it?

~I placed  my order for our take out, then little lady woke up from her final nap (again only 40 minutes.. no 2 hour nap for her!).  I went upstairs to get her, and little man pissed his pants.

~I came downstairs to mr. pee-pee pants, and an email from the restaurant that they were no longer taking orders (even though their website said they were)... shit... I didn’t take anything out for dinner!

~Called my husband to tell him we had no dinner, and he told me he was at the grocery store buying me a present anyway, so he would pick something up.

~He came home with dinner.. a card, and ice cream (there goes the diet... again).. no diamond earrings.. and no roses :(... (but really.. I have been hinting for 4 years... I think its just not going to happen.. and I kill plants in record speed)

~Because little lady skipped her long nap, I had to put her to bed early, but I missed her “bedtime window” by 10 WHOLE minutes, so she cried though out our whole dinner.

~ At 7:30 little man stated that he needed to go to bed early, phew!

~after an hour of fussing from little lady she did go to sleep by 8:00 (yay!)

~My husband and I did get to snuggle on the sofa and watch a sappy girly movie... :)... because it was Valentines day... and he loves me... damn it!

Didn't go quite as planned... but nothing really ever does.. it was still a perfect day with my loves <3

Day 37- gratitude log

I am working on a long post about Valentines day, so I will count that as today and tomorrow blog.. But I forgot to state why I was grateful yesterday.

Feb 13- I am grateful for NOT having to take two kids to a busy pediatric clinic.. And that little ladies eye is ok :)

Feb 14- today I am grateful for my two little loves, as well as my big one :)

Day 36- I thought this was supposed to get easier?

I am a nut...full blown lunatic when it comes to the health of my kids.  Little man has always gotten really high fevers when he is sick, which means I have had about 15 panic attacks since he has been born.  When he was 4 months old, he had a mild case of "the runs", and I made my husband take rush us to the ER because I was certain that our happy, playing, alert baby was severely dehydrated and was in dire need of IV fluids.  I have placed countless hysterical phone calls to the pediatrician because I was SURE something was desperately, horribly wrong... and each time, he was just fine.  Every symptom he had, I would quickly run to Dr. Google, read all of the baby forums and message boards, where other crazy-ass parents would say things like "go with your instinct, mommy knows best..." Well, if I had gone with my instincts, little man would have been quarantined in a hospital with around the clock care for every child-hood virus he has encountered, you may think I am exaggerating, but sadly I am this bat-shit crazy.  I would talk to "seasoned" moms, and they would assure me that I was only like this because I was a new mom.  All new moms were THIS crazy, and when I had my next it would take her spleen falling out of her nose for me to take her to the Dr.  I was hoping, and praying that with my next, I would relax a little.. HA.

Little lady has not encountered many little germs because I have been lucky enough to be a stay at home mom with her.  When I had little man, I was a working mom, so he  got ALL of the little-person illnesses from day care.  But today, little lady had her first health "issue", and I wish that I could say that I handled it with the poise and grace that the "seasoned" moms promised me I would... but unfortunately, I am still a nut-case.  Little lady woke up this morning with her left eye looking a little puffy, and red around it.  It didn't look too serious, just like she has maybe been rubbing it.  I got her up, got her changed, and noticed that her left eye looked like it had something in it.  As the morning went on, I noticed that what ever it was, wasn't going away.  I tried to wipe her eye with a warm wash cloth, and she freaked out.  She didn't want me anywhere near her eye, so what do I do?  I google it of course!  I self-diagnosed little lady with a scratched cornea, and all of the forums were telling me to take her to the ER ASAP because it could damage her eye permanently.  The crazy side of me told me to get her ass in the car RIGHT away and take her to the hospital, my god... what if her eye FELL OUT because I didn't react soon enough!!  She would never forgive me if she had to wear a patch for the rest of her life!  Thankfully, I DO also have a rational side... it usually gets ignored in these situations, but the rational side of me said to just wait until the pediatric clinic opened at 3:15 (this was all happening around 1).. I would have waited in the ER room for a few hours anyway, she wasn't rubbing her eye, she was still playing, it just didn't look so great.  So I fought my urge to pack her up and leave, and put her down for her nap.  Her whole nap I was pretty much a nervous wreck.  At 3:10 little lady woke up, I had the car packed, little man ready to go, I go up to her room to get her ready to go to the clinic.  I lay her on her changing table, look at her little eyes, and they are fine.  Both of them.  Perfectly fine.  Must have been a little fuzz, or hair that was being stubborn, but I am sure glad that I listened to my rational side!  I sure would have felt like an asshole taking her to the ER for an eye booger!

And I thought this was supposed to get easier with the second!!!???!!

Day 35- snow day!

Today is a mommy and Gray day... We usually go ice skating on Sundays. It takes us about 45 minutes to get ready, 20 minutes to get there, 10 to get ready there, we get on the ice and he is ready to go home within the first 10 minutes. It is completely exhausting, but when he "gets it" his whole little face lights up as he screams "mommy, I doing i!" the past two Sundays he has been telling me "I don't want to go, it's too stip-a-dee"... Today he couldn't make a choice. One minute he wanted to go, the next he wanted to stay home. Little lady was up a lot last night so I was feeling a little too tired to get him all ready for him to get there for 5 minutes and tell me he is ready to go home. So we compromised and decided to play outside in the snow. My husband wanted to shovel the driveway, so we bundled up the little people and headed out. Little man thought it was his job to shovel snow with his sand shovel and dump it on his head, and little lady was just confused. Below are some pictures of our snow day :)

Today I am thankful for quinoa... It is pretty damn awesome as a replacement for pasta in spaghetti and sausage :)

Day 34- clean house

I have to preface this post by saying I have the best husband in the world. I may joke about him hibernating through a screaming little lady, or leaving bacon pans in the sink, but he is an amazing father and helps so much around the house.
I almost never get a chance to clean during the week. The time that I would usually have, I now spend working out. Every once in a while I have time to vacuum, an occasional dusting, but that's about it. I woke up this morning and my husband was in a full-out cleaning frenzy. The hall way upstairs is clean for the first time in... Well the first time this year.. We even tackled little mans play room, and got it into somewhat decent shape. I went downstairs to work out, and came upstairs to find that out entire living room area had been completely re-arranged! The house looks the best it has since we moved in almost a year ago.
Once everything was looking great, my husband and I cooked a kick ass dinner together while little lady took a nap..and little man played a game. Today was a pretty damn good day :)



Today I am grateful for my awesome husband, and our nice, clean house!

Day 33- got nothing

I know I promised that I would write in my blog every day.. But I got nothing clever today...

I was watching the dr oz show today and there was a dr on it saying that it is beneficial to write a daily gratitude journal. I think I will start that at the end of each blog.

Today I am grateful for the full night of sleep my kids allowed me to have last night. They both slept all night, and even slept an hour late!

Day 32- GIRLS NIGHT!

Last night little lady was up every hour until 3am, then she ate and went back to sleep until 7:30.  Little man woke up at 6am crying hysterically, when I went into his room he told me he NEEDED his Pluto stuffed animal.. it was clearly an emergency. He went back to sleep, up at 7:30 with little lady.  I am extremely sleep deprived.  To top that off,  the birth control my dr. prescribed for me is giving me some pretty yucky lady problems... On a normal day, all of this would have put me in a horrid, sleepy mood.  But not today.  Tonight is girls night.  The one night a month I get to go out, get dressed up like an actual woman and not a booger-crusted mom.  Last month I had to skip because something else came up, so I haven't had a night away in a few months.
When we lived in NJ, we had a pretty huge circle of friends.  We had plans pretty much every weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  We like to be busy, and since we have moved here our social lives have all but stopped.  Our weekends are not nearly as exciting as they used to be, but I am so thankful that I found a great group of women that I can get out with!  If I didn't find this mommy group I probably would have drowned myself in lake Ontario long ago...
So tonight while little man is refusing to go to bed because he is "too busy".. and little lady is fighting sleep because that is just what she does these days... it won't be my problem, I will be hanging out with a pretty kick-ass group of ladies, and I am pretty damn happy about it!

Day 31-Week 4 update

Its that time kids!  Time for the weekly update on FC and SFT. (If your new to my journey.. this is where it started)  Last night was my 4th meeting.  I'll keep this short since not a whole lot has changed.  I am down another pound this week! woo-hoo!  While I do wish a little more would come off a week, (after all I am working out every damn day and have pretty much cut all all sugar and junk food, plus cut WAY down on carbs) I am happy it is something.  And I am really starting to see a difference.  When I see a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I walk by I think.. "HEY.. I recognize you!", so that is a good thing.  I fit into my "skinny" jeans this week too!  They were pretty damn uncomfortable, and if I bent down I am fairly certain the ass would rip out, but after I had little lady I could barely get them past my knees haha.  So just getting them on and zipped is an accomplishment in itself.

I met with SFT this weekend for a fat/muscle analysis, and it appears that I am not in as bad of shape as I thought, sure I have been kicking my own ass every day (well almost every day.. since I started this thing I have missed 3 days of working out).. but I am almost in the "normal" range for both body fat, and body muscle percentages.  SFT assures me that I don't have THAT much to lose, and I probably won't lose much more than a pound a week.  She said the more I work out, the more those numbers will change then I will be good.  (she also said my numbers were the best she had seen all weekend *pats myself on the back*)

She also said that I need to cut back EVEN more on the carbs... damn it! Did you know that women should only have 4-5 servings of "whole grains" a day?  A "serving" of whole wheat pasta is 1/2 a cup... so if you normally eat a cup (and who eats JUST a cup?? If you fill your plate that's your WHOLE day's worth of carbs...).. that's two of your servings there!  A pita wrap.. is 2 whole servings as well.  WHAT THE HELL!!??!!

 Stay tuned kids!!

ps.. I am noticing that the more I post.. the more I curse.  If I offend you... sorry.  I never curse in front of my kids.. so when I am writing, it all just comes out like word vomit.. besides were all adults here right? 

Day 30- I know better

I am having a shitty day.  I just looked at the clock and though, how the hell is it only 2:00?!? Then to realize... its not 2:00.. its 1:00... sigh.  The day started like any normal day.. the kids up at the ass-crack of dawn.  I pried my sleepy ass out of bed, got them and we headed downstairs.  We all have breakfast, an hour and a half later, little lady is ready for a nap, and she goes down without a fight.. phew!  Little man and I head downstairs so I can work out, my motivation was low, my patience was low, and I was tired as hell.  I needed to change the batteries on the elliptical, so as I am trying to do it, little man keeps asking over and over in that toddle let-me-repeat-myself-over-and-over-till-you-give-in way... "mommy, I want some of your water, mommy I want some of your water...pleeeaaaaassssse"  So I try to stay calm, "hunny, wait a minutes, mommy needs this water for when she works out, I will go get you your own water as soon as a fix this." Right there... my first mistake of the day.. I should have just handed over my water than passed out from dehydration on the machine, because asking little man to wait is just unreasonable... or I should have been one step ahead of the game and brought down a water for him to begin with like I usually do, but because I was up a lot with little lady last night, my sleep deprived brain was not thinking that I was dealing with an emotionally unstable 3 year old, I for a second, thought I was talking to a rational, reasonable human.
So little man throws himself on the ground, screaming, yelling, hitting the machine. I tell him "mommy does not have patience for this today, go sit in time out."  You would have thought I just told him that Captain Hook killed Jake and the Pirates... he was furious and heart broken.  He sat on the step for 15 minutes, hysterical, so any patience I had left was just gone.  In my rational (yet sleep deprived brain) I KNOW there is no reason for this outburst, no reason for all of the snot, and all of the tears, no reason other than that he is 3.  So I yell "That's it!!  Your going back to bed!!" So he picks up his water and throws it at me... I again yell, "GET BACK ON THAT STEP!!"...  He  yells back "Mommy, I want to go to sleep!!" (Well I guess so!!  Crying hysterically for 20 minutes really takes it out of a person!)  So I carry him, as he wipes his boogers in my hair, sobbing with a red crying rash all over his little face, up to his room, where he gets under the covers says goodnight.  As soon as I walk out of his room, little lady wakes up, all of the commotion of captain over-dramatic woke her up.  I sprint to her room, give her the pacifier, hope and pray she goes back to sleep (thank god... she did!), and then return to the basement to finish my work out (all I wanted to do was finish my f*cking work out!), crying the whole way down the steps.  (Because yes, THAT is going to solve the crazy 3 year old problems.. and the bad sleep habits of little lady.. crying is definitely the most rational thing to do...) And this was all before 10:30...
But it was all my fault.  The whole damn thing.  Sleep deprivation, crazy 3 year old.. all me, because I know better.  Yesterday while we were at Chuck-E-Cheese, little lady was up for a whole 3 hours.  She was in a great mood, so stupid me thought, oh she will be fine for the rest of the day/night.  But I know her, and I know better.  I know that she NEEDS to sleep every 2 hours... or she sleeps like hell that night.  I am hoping that she grows out of that somewhat soon, because I am really starting to feel like I am being held hostage in my own home.... plus how am I going to explain that to her teachers?  "Yes she will do all of the work, but can you please just let her sleep ever 2 hours, no no, I am not one of those crazy parents that wants special treatment.. I just want you to plan your whole days lessons around my daughter...ok?"  We CAN go out, and she is in a great mood, but as punishment for making her leave the comforts of our home, she wakes up every few hours at night.  Yet, I keep testing her, then paying the price that night and come the next day with sleep deprivation, lack of patience, and the inability to reason with a completely unreasonable little man.  Yup, I know better.

Day 29-Chuck-E-Cheese

A few weeks ago we got an E-vite for a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheeses for a friend of mine's little girl. I get along really well with the woman, our parenting styles are very similar, and I have a feeling that even if we didn't have kids, we would be friends anyway.  (when I entered into mommy-hood, I found it was pretty damn difficult to find friends that (a). Their kid's weren't little assholes that I couldn't stand (b) Their parenting style didn't just totally sucked (c.) I ACTUALLY genuinely liked the other person.) This woman is the tri-fecta of mommy friends, so when I got the e-vite, I knew that we HAD to go.  I really only have a small handful of good friends that I really like up here in Canada, so I knew that I couldn't blow off her sweet little girls birthday party.  Before the party, I hadn't been to Chuck-E-Cheeses in YEARS, and I can't say that I had great experiences.. and that was pre-kids.  The though of taking my kids (by myself) to a busy child arcade, full of germs, and bratty kids who's parents aren't paying attention to them did NOT sound like a fun way to spend my Monday morning,  but as I said, we really HAD to go.

Today was the big day.  Last night little man was so amped up and excited to go he could barely go to sleep.  This morning, he was tootin a whole different horn.  He didn't want to get changed this morning, we came downstairs and he didn't want to eat, he didn't want to put his shoes on, he told me he didn't want to go, he just wanted to stay home and sleep on the sofa. WHAT?!?  Daily I beg, bribe, and plead with little man to take a nap, and today of all days, he tells me he doesn't want to go play with kids, he wants to stay home and sleep!  And to top it off, little lady decided that today, of all days, she was going to take a long nap.  (she is usually good for 40 minutes, but today she was sleeping over an hour before I said.. shit, I gotta go wake up the bear)... By the time I got them both up and ready, tear and snot free, it was 11am... the party had already started and we still hadn't left the house.  If this girl wasn't such a rare find in the mommy friend world, I would have said f-it.. were going to call out sick, but I didn't, we got in the car and we left.  We finally got there around 11:30, and thank GOD little man changed his mind about the whole thing when we got there.  As soon as he saw the blinking lights, and huge assortment of games he was IN.  And little lady, bless her little soul, was so well behaved the whole time.  She just hung out in my moby wrap the whole time, happy to be there watching her big brother enjoying the games.

The party went really really smoothly for having a room full of three year olds.  I only wanted to smack a little kid once!  And that was a little boy who was sitting next to little man, he apparently didn't want to sit there and screamed at his mom "I do NOT Want to sit  next to THIS boy!"... I don't think that her and I could be friends in mommy world... her kid was an asshole, and she was a pushover.  (of course he could actually be a really sweet kid that was having a rough moment, and she could have just been exhausted because, well toddlers are f*cking exhausting!)

Little man even told me he had to go potty 3 times while we were there!  A few weeks ago and he would have just pissed his pants!  The whole thing was going great....  then it was time to go.  Moment of truth.  I am always, without a doubt, inevitably the mom carrying out the screaming toddler because he is not ready to go.  I told little man to gather his things, it was time to go, so what does he do?  He takes off his shoes.. and goes and sits next to the birthday girl.  At this point, everyone else had left, and my friend, her husband, her sister, parents and their 5 month old were just trying to get the hell out of there.  And who was holding them up?  My little man, shoes off, giggling away with their daughter, who also did not want to leave because she had company.  I tried the whole "OK, we are going to leave you here."  And my friend chimes in with "Mommy is going to leave, you are going to have to come stay at my house."... Without missing a beat he replies "OK. Wait, Do you have a potty at your house?".. she says "yes, we have a potty"... "Ok", he looks at me"Bye mommy"  My friend looks at me, desperate to go home, I am equally as desperate... little lady had been up for 3 hours (she is usually only good for 2), and was strapped to my chest like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.  So again I BEG little man "Can was PLEASE put shoes and coat on and go home." He just looks at me and smile.. he knows he is winning... I have little lady strapped to me, I can not physically pick him up over my shoulder and drag his little ass out kicking and screaming like usual.  My friend, as a last effort says "what if I help you with your coat, then will you go home with mommy?"  We look at each other, look at him, hoping and praying we don't have a scene on our hands... "OK, lets go home."  PHEW.. Crisis averted!

Chuck-E-Cheese... today you were alright in my book... maybe.. just maybe we will return.

Day 28-Super Bowl Sunday

It is no secret that I strongly dislike football. There are few activities that I like less that watching football, it is a complete waist of time (in my opinion.) However, super bowl commercials usually crack my shit up.... Usually. Apparently when you watch the Super Bowl north of the boarder, the Canadians substitute all of the hilarious American commercials for really really shitty, tragically un-funny commercials. Sigh... And don't even get me started on the half time show this year! I am not a big Madonna fan, I don't dislike her, but I'm not rushing to buy her lasted album. The music was decent... But my god she was moving a little slow. I really hope she didn't pull a muscle, or fracture a hip... It wasn't looking so good for her.
Looks like I am going to use this night of television failure to head to bed early, maybe even do some reading..yes that is what I will do. Go spend 2 hours with just ME.. No kids, no husband... No dog..hmmm, maybe the Super Bowl isn't so bad after all...

Day 27- my favorite day

Saturday is my favorite day of the week. Saturday have always been my favorite, what is there not to love about them! My reasons have changed quite a bit over the years for WHY Saturdays are just plain awesome. Pre-kids Saturdays meant sleeping till 11, rolling out of bed, going out to breakfast with friends, hitting up the mall for a hot "Saturday night outfit", taking an afternoon nap, getting up around 4, getting showered and ready for the night, and being up with friends partying until 2-3 in the morning. Admittedly I do miss my Pre-kids Saturdays, but the thought of being up till 2-3 voluntarily sounds pretty awful. (of course then I could sleep till noon, then again take an afternoon nap).

Post-kids, Saturdays have a whole new reason for being my favorite. I am not sleeping till 11, I am not meeting friends for breakfast, not shopping for new clothes, nor am I taking a nap and going out to dinner... And I am usually in bed by 10. Saturdays are my favorite because I save all my weekly errands for Saturday, and I leave the kids with my husband for a few hours of uninterrupted, boring-ass adult errands. I can go food shopping, I can run to Walmart, the pharmacy, even a trip to Starbucks if I see fit! Pre-kid Richelle hated boring errands, and if you would have told her that soon she would count down the days each week until she could do them, she would have laughed in your face.

There was even a time that post-baby Richelle hated these errands, I would feel so rushed, like I had to get home ASAP to get because I would feel bad for leaving the kids with my husband for a few hours. I have since learned to let go of that guilt, my husband gets to leave the house every day, some days for 11 hours a day, while I am here with the two of them, so I have earned to go run my errands in peace. Sure, I could do them during the week, but the idea of grocery shopping with two kids scares me, and I'm just not going to do it.

Does it sound pathetic that Saturdays are my favorite day because I get 2-3 full hours completely by myself? A few hours free of tantrums, and spit up,a few hours I can pretend to be just another single girl leisurely browsing the produce. To a child-free person, the answer is probably yes, my idea of a wonderful Saturday may sound pathetic, but to fellow moms, I have a suspicion that it sounds blissful.

Day 26-Torture

I love my kids.  I love them more than anything in this world.  I love how my little lady is always happy, is quick to smile and loves to laugh.  I love how little man is goofy, will do anything to get his sister to laugh, plays well with other kids, and is just an overall great kid.  Sure there are ups and downs, but I can deal with them.  I can deal with the sleepless nights, the toddler temper tantrums, the piss on the sofa, the spit up, the blow out diapers, the boogie noses, and the house looking like a tornado just went though.

There is one thing about parenthood that is about to make me lose my shit. Cartoons.  When I was growing up, I don't remember my cartoons being nearly as annoying as the crap that is on TV today. (though I am sure if you asked my mom, she would say she was being tortured with the shows my brother and I watched daily.) Now before I get jumped on for allowing my kids to watch T.V, I allow it in moderation.  When little lady is awake, little man and I are playing with her, or I am feeding her, and she doesn't see much of it.  And little man and I have a routine for mornings, and doesn't watch much TV then either.  But in the afternoon, when little man has hit a wall because he refused to take a nap, and the paints have all been painted with, the legos built with, and crayons colored with, I do allow little man to watch some TV.  He used to be happy with what ever I put on, bright colors, music, what is there not to like?  He has recently become incredibly picky.  His choice of shows?  Mickey Mouse Club House, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  I find Jake to not be quite as annoying as Mickey, but OnDemand only has 3 episodes, and I am certain we have seen them all about 200 times.  I am fairly certain we have seen ever episode of Mickey Mouse as well.  The show of Jake isn't too bad, but there are these two grown-ass adult men that sing at the end, and they dance around, it is f*cking annoying as hell.  Last night my husband asked me that if his job was to sing and dance on a child's show, would I still have married him?  I didn't even have to think about it, I told him no way in hell.  And Mickey Mouse is a lazy turd.  He has these "handy helpers" that open the door for him, and do anything he needs done at his house.  Why can't he open his own damn door?  And why can goofy walk upright and talk, but Pluto can not?
Little man insists that if he is awake, and the TV is on, these two shows are the ONLY acceptable programing that he will watch.  They  keep him quiet and entertained, but for me they are pure torture...

Day 25-A day in the life of our Robbi

We got our dog Robbi when our son was just 2 months old.  Everyone  told us we were crazy for getting a puppy when we had an infant, but little man was a really easy baby, and we wanted our dog, and our kids to grow up together.  Robbi is part lab, part we-have-no-idea.  When we got her she was a ball of energy, and remained that was for the first year and a half, but right around her second birthday she calmed down a whole lot.  Robbi is one of the best investments that we have ever made.  She has the patience of a saint, she is extremely loyal, and very well behaved.  I sometimes think that our little man is pushing his limits with her, but after I tell him to leave her alone she is nudging him and encouraging him to play again.  With two kids, and a house to take care of, Robbi does not always get the attention she deserves, I thought I would just take a few minutes to summarize a day in the life of our sweet Robbi, as seen  though her eyes

6:30~ Dad's alarm clock is going off, I am not quite ready to get up, I will give a low grunt to show my disapproval.
7:00~ Time to get out of bed and go downstairs with dad for breakfast and to go out.
7:30~ Finally!  He left!  Now I can lay on the sofa and hope no one notices!
8:00~Shit!  I hear the rest of the family coming down, I better get off the sofa!
8:30~I  think I will snooze by the back door for a while with my bone tucked under my chin.
8:40-9:40~ Chase the little man around.  He took my bone and is running with it.  Mom keeps yelling at him to give it back because its mine, but he says he is "sharing".. this kid needs a lesson on sharing.
9:45~Finally!  Got my bone back!  Little man is eating and will leave me alone for a bit.
10:00~Annnd he has my bone again.  He is making me go to the basement because mom wants to work out.
10:10~ Little lady is crying, when mom goes up to give her the pacifier, I can sneak up and get back to the back door to snooze.
10:13~Little man is standing downstairs screaming "ROBBI!!  COME DOWNSTAIRS!".. Maybe I can hide for a few more minutes.
10:15~Mom just came down and told me that if I want to live here I better go play with little man... damn it!
10:40~Mom is done working out, quick!  Run the backdoor and sleep!!
10:45~Shit, mom is going upstairs to take a shower, little man took my bone again and is making me go upstairs with him.
10:45-11:15~Chase little man around mom and dad's room,  look for bone, he keeps hiding it under pillows!
11:30-2:30~I get to take a nap!!!  I  thought it would never happen!  But little man is eating lunch, watching a movie, then playing with his little sister.
2:35-4:00~ Another game of chase after little man for the bone, this time he is burying it under couch cushions, then I get in trouble when I dig in the sofa for it!! This is some shit!
4:05-5:30~ Another nap!  Woo-hoo!
5:30-6:15~ Wait at the door for dad to get home.
6:15-6:30~ Go upstairs and chase little man around while Dad is getting changed
6:30-7:00~ Sit under little man's chair and wait until he sneaks me food.
7:00-8:00~ Little man is getting tired, but now I am ready to play.  Maybe if I just keep biting his butt he will come play with me, though he keeps screaming "ROBBI!!! NO BITING MY BUTT!!!!"
8:00~ The kids are asleep, so this means I can try to sneak onto the sofa while mom and dad watch TV, they won't notice, right?
8:10~Shit... they noticed.. guess I have to go lay on my bed
10:30~Time for bed!
1:00, 3:00, 5:00~ little lady keeps waking up, this is annoying me, I should probably give a low grow to show my dissatisfaction, why the hell is the one still waking up 3 times a night?!?

Day 24- Week 3 update

Last night was my third meeting with SFT (Sargent Fake Tits).  I was pretty damn nervous to go, I hadn't written down a single thing that I ate last week.  I ate better (at least I THOUGHT I did),  I still didn't have any junk food, or excessive carbs during the day, I just didn't have 5 minutes after every meal to type it all into my Ipad.  I am usually eating meals while playing on the floor (aka being a jungle gym for little man).  Thank goodness SFT didn't ask me for my food log, I would have been in trouble!  I did work out more last week though.  As promised, I kicked up by work out to 30 minutes a day, and started to do Pilates as well.  I was feeling much better about the weigh in last night than I was the week before.  I had been working out like a lunatic all week, so I was SURE I lost at least 2-3lbs.  I get to the meeting and weigh in right away, feeling overconfident in my accomplishments for the week, I look down, and I lost 1 lb.  Isn't that a kick in the nuts!  But SFT assured me that 1 lb. is still great, the first week it is normal to drop 3-4 lbs, but its starts to slow to about 1-2 lbs a week after that.  My ego was feeling a little deflated, but hey 1lb is better than no lbs!

Last night's meeting was on carbs, and why they are evil.  After hearing her explanation, and watching the videos that she showed us to scare the shit out of us, I quickly saw that I did not do as great as I could have this week.  I do pretty well with  breakfast, lunch and snacks, but dinner comes and I overload on carbs.  Well, now I know better and need to make that change. I bought a cook book last week that is all about low-carb and healthy food, so I am going to plan our meals from that.  I may even get really brave and take the two little ones grocery shopping with me tomorrow so we can start to eat better ASAP and not have to wait until this weekend when my husband can watch the little people. (if you know me.. you know that taking 2 little people with me to go grocery shopping scares the hell out of me... but ya know what scares me more??  Myself in a bikini right now..)

On a positive note, I do see and feel changes in my body, and that is really what I am looking for.  I have been wearing a lot of yoga pants, and leggings with big sweaters this week, so I haven't really felt how my jeans fit.  After my shower this morning, I put on a pair of my "fat jeans"and they were too big!  I had a good 3 inches around my stomach! Super excited, I ran to my closet to pull out my "medium" jeans that have been WAY too tight since having little lady, and they fit comfortably!!!

I go this weekend for a fat/muscle analysis, so I will see just how much fat I have to lose, and how much muscle I have built by working out every day.  Wish me luck!!

~Richelle