Fit Friday

September 2008

December 2007

October 2006

October 2005

October 2005 = me thirty pounds ago.

There is this group of moms doing this "Hot for the Holidays" thing and each Friday is Fit Friday where you post little tidbits on your healthy weight accomplishments for the week.  I debated whether or not to post my own but I'll give it a shot.  To not post would really be giving into the "I don't want to set myself up for failure" attitude.  So here goes.

Quite simply this week I had a talk with Nick.

I told him what I like and what I don't like about myself 

and we talked about what I need to do.

It is nothing fancy and no new revelation.  It is the same steps that everything else is talking about which is:

-be a more conscious eater

-eat real food

-eat small portions 

-exercise

-drink water

Today I prepared lunch for Nick, Jason, and myself.  We had grilled chicken, salad with carrots, tomatoes, and goat cheese.  The croutons were baked bread pieces from the Publix bakery (rye and italian) and the dressing I chose was a tablespoon of light blue cheese.  I also topped my salad with a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds (lots of fiber).  I took one bite of a halloween sugar cookie for dessert.  I can't give myself too much credit on dessert because had it been chocolate I would have eaten the whole thing.

My mantra is "25 by the 25th" which is 25 pounds by my birthday, February 25th.  That is a lot but not impossible.

That's really it.  

Boo!

So consider these pictures as me giving you the good news first.

Well, let me say first that I am getting quite irritated at the vast number of people in public that take at look at Harper and Lily and say, "aww, a girl and a boy?"  I'm serious.  Most people are completely oblivious to dresses and pink car seats.  So, Monday night I put big bows on their heads even though this is something I SWORE I would never do.  I think it is actually kind of cute.  Lily is so cute in blue and Harper, well Harper was just as cute the entire trip through Publix but when we pulled up in the driveway and started to unload she looked like this...

And now for the bad news.

The stuffy noses?  Might be an allergy to milk.  We are not sure but after reading GFR post about milk allergies and switching to the "golden formula" we are willing to give it a try.  The babies have had this "snort" phelgmy sounding breathing pattern for a couple of months now... well ever since switching to formula.  It may have been there before due to choking episodes when they were really young but now they hardly ever choke but the snort has gotten much worse.  So bad that tonight they screamed bloody murder about it from 5:20p.m. until 7:10 p.m. when they finally were so exhausted they fell asleep... mid scream.  It is so sad.  No fevers, no decrease in appetite, no rashes, just a really juicy snort.  So why call it "golden formula" changeover?  Because as if formula isn't expensive enough ($32 per 278 fluid ounces amounts to $320 per month for formula feeding two babies) we now may have to pay $25 for 113 fluid ounces!!!  Holy crap I am just now really doing the math and that is approximately:

(5 feedings per day) x 12 ounces each time = 60 fluid ounces per day

(60 ounces per day) x 7 days per week = 420 ounces per week

(420 ounces per week) / (113 ounces per can) = approximately 4 cans per week

6 cans x $25 = $100 per week

4 weeks in a month = $400 per month on formula.

Yeesh.

 

* if you are reading this post for the second time then you may notice I made a math correction thanks to Pallie ;) 

** OKAY somewhere I keep messing up the calculations.. how pathetic am I?

Yes Emily you are right, $25 x 6 is $150 per week, 4 weeks in a month is $600 THE FIRST big scary number I got so someone work the whole equation and be sure I am right the THIRD time around.

Stuffy Noses Are Not Fun and other random things I have to say

Today Harper had a stuffy nose and the poor thing cried and snorted all day.  With a little plunging and saline drops she should be o.k.

Tomorrow we will travel to Mobile to see friends and have some good ole' fashion hang time.  It is odd that until this past month I have not been to the bay area in a couple of years and now I will have gone twice.

Last night was COLD.  The wind was blowing like crazy and it was wet and rainy.  Today was almost the same and I did not change out of my pajamas... I am not exaggerating at all.

Lately we have been going through Publix bakery bread... YUM.  Seriously I doubt I will ever need to buy any other bread at all... even better than Sunbeam and that says a lot for me.

Yesterday morning I was out of coffee creamer and Nick was not here to run to the store for me so I searched through the pantry and found a single serving of powdered Starbucks hot chocolate, mixed that with my coffee and it was amazing.  Such a nice treat.

Also at Publix I ran into one of the pediatricians that I have met once in my life and she remembered us ( I had the girls and my little sister ).  When I introduced the Dr. to my sister Whitney, W said that Dr. M has actually doctored her before and I though what a concept?  That a doctor can walk through a grocery store and see perhaps dozens of her patients.... people's whose lives they touch and possible change, or save even.

Today I watched Across the Universe for the second time and it was better than I remember.

I will not ruin the surprise of what Harper and Lily's costumes will be this year for Halloween but I am excited to see them all spookified...except they won't really be spooky.

And lastly, chocolate covered strawberries is one of my favorite desserts.

Has this blog changed your perspective on life or what?

My Neck of the Woods

...as Al Roper would say.

Well, Al, a lot actually.

It is a crisp cool Monday morning and the babies are at their "Mims" house for the day after sleeping 13 hours straight last night!  They began getting fussy at 6p.m. last night and were down and out by 6:30p.m.  Lily woke up at 7a.m. and we had to wake Harper up at 7:30a.m. to feed them at the same time.  This is amazing and I keep asking my friend with twins who we call Mims "is something wrong with them?"  She assures me this is a good thing.  I will admit that it is very nice to be able to watch t.v and have a glass of wine with my husband at 7p.m. and do other adult things knowing that the babies are safe and sound in their beds while visions of pumpkin spiced lattes dance in their heads...

Saturday... there was a knock at my door and it was Mrs. Linda - mother of Nick's college friend Brian - who had been out yard sale shopping and said she found an Expedition Jogger Double Stroller  for $75... she talked them down to $30 and the stroller is ours!  

Sunday afternoon was the PERFECT afternoon for a stroll.  I bundled the babies up, put on my tennies, and went walking.  It was 4:30p.m. and there were kids playing in their yards, neighbors mowing their grass, and even a Fall block party in a nearby culdesac going on.  As I strolled, I looked down at my two gorgeous daughters, I breathed in the fresh air, I felt the sun on my face, I tasted the Burt's Bees on my lips and I literally said out loud, "I am living my dream."  My dream was never to be a woman with a successful career or even someone who travels the world - although I do have the privelage of working towards these things also.  My dream, as cliche as it may sound, was to marry a God loving, sexy, and romantic man, have a home that always smelled good, and raise children that could one day say, "Mama, you make me proud."  So far, I have accomplished two of the three.

I would like to get a haircut today but the salon is closed on Mondays.

I will have lunch somewhere delicious with  my God loving, sexy, romantic husband.

I will go with this man to Walmart where

I will purchase all the little things you list on your fridge to get next time you are at Walmart like 

• ziplock baggies
• swiffer stuff
• cascade
• lean cuisines

I will stroll the babies again at 4:30p.m.

I will start The Memory Keepers Daughter before I go to sleep tonight.

I will be back at work in exactly 2 weeks therefore

I will cherish these days where strolling and reading are the most complicated things listed on my list of things to do today.  You can hate me if you want to but I will say that I genuinely wish the time off for every expecting mother that I have had these past 5 months.  And if you only have 1 day to yourself, do something you love.

Picture Post

Me and Nick on game day.

Ok, this was NOT staged.  I was strolling the babies one morning and of course they were asleep and when I peeked in on them they were snuggling really really close!

Me and my girls.  My how they have grown.

Early Bird Special

The nice thing about having two babies that sleep through the night, finally, is that I get the chance to sleep in 7-8 hour increments.  Is 8 hours an increment?  The past few mornings I have stayed up after the the 5a.m. feedings to enjoy the quietness and stillness of the mornings.  Two of those three mornings I have watched the sunrise from my back porch.  This morning I actually journaled... for the first time since before the babies were born.  It's just nice.

In my journaling and Scripture reading I came across one of my favorite verses, Matthew 5:8, "those with a pure heart: shall see God" and it reminded me of the comfort I drew from it in high school and now the comfort I get from it with Harper and Lily in mind.  They have such pure perfect hearts and every experience, for a while, will be unguarded and unscathed by prior emotional attachments or experiences. 

Then I came across this post and it really drove the point home for me.  

Just for giggles:  Sometimes when I get up really early, like today, I hear a line from the movie Sister Act - the scene where Whoopie Goldberg gets woken up by the little sunflower alarm clock that one of the other shy sisters gives her... the alarm clock says, "Out of bed you sleepy head, Out of bed you sleepy head."  

What is a little chant or rhyme like this that gets stuck in your head sometimes?

My Heavy Heart and the Silver Lining...

Someone asked me yesterday, "Do you like being a mother?"  

My response was, "Absolutely.  Being a mother changes the way I see things, the good and the bad."

Everyday when I look at my babies I am reminded of their struggle to survive in the hospital for two months because of their early delivery.  Today, I see their round faces and "fat bottoms," as I have affectionately nicknamed one child praying it won't do more psychological damage than good (!) and I long for the day that their is interaction between myself and them other than the basic steps to care for them.  About a month ago I had lunch with this same friend of mine and heard her almost 3 year old son scream, "MaaaaaaMaaaaaa!" from his room as he was ready to be finished with nap time and wanted her to come and scoop him up.  She doesn't know this but every time I go to my babies cribs I hear that sweet voice say, "MaaaaaaMaaaaa" knowing that someday, to my babies, "mama" will be me.  That is the good I see right now.

The bad is that I also realize the sobering fact that their are millions of unwanted, lonely, abandoned, abused children out there who will never know what love is and will never learn how to love.

A baby comes into this world requiring only three basic things: food, sleep, and affection.  If denied any of these actions the child will either die or grow into a troubled and perhaps lonely and/or dangerous person.  There is a medical term called "Failure to Thrive" that refers to a child's inability to gain weight due to a physical disorder affecting basic ingestive, digestive, and excretory functions of the body.  Also, there is "nonorganic FTT," a term that is used to categorize children that exhibit depression and apathy as a result of poor parenting skills and depression among a caregiver.  This, to me, sounds like the medical name for "what happens when life doesn't practice the Golden Rule."  

This is the bad I see and the bad that I am about to be re-exposed to when I return to work in a school where this is a lot of love, no doubt, and also a lot of love undiscovered that manifests itself in school aged children with the failure to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.  

This morning I charge myself to see the "silver lining" in returning to work... the silver lining is that my children will be cared for and loved by a friend I trust while I spend 8 hours in a building among hundreds of children that need a lesson... on love.

  

With All Due Respect...

Sometimes this "going green" thing sounds a little silly...

Because, for now, I am a stay at home mom I watch a lot of t.v. and I have seen a lot of popular day time shows giving tips on how to save money and energy.  Some tips are really useful such as using the reusable shopping bags and riding your bicycle to nearby places... although it seems a little impossible when you a.) don't have a bike b.) have twins however there are a few ideas that I have heard of that seem a little ridiculous to me:

1.)  unplug all appliances 

One lady suggested unplugging every basic fixture and appliance when you are not home and/or when you are not using that particular appliance. (Lamps, t.v., kitchen appliances) It may save some dollars on your next electric bill but how inconvenient it is the next time you need light or to see what time it is if you have to bend down on all fours to reach the plug that is nestled back behind the couch or 100 pound dresser.

2.)  trade furniture with a neighbor next time you want to redecorate your home.

Who is up for trading your ole couch for someone else's ole couch... or mattress, ew.

3.)  Brew your own coffee and lattes instead of heading to Starbucks.

I only know of one person that buys enough Starbucks to affect his monthly "mad money" budget and I'm pretty sure I am not going to be able to convince him to give it up.

4.) (and this is my favorite)

Rip up your carpet insulation and use it as wall paper or a cool message board for bills and receipts...

NO!

What is the line you draw on being "green?"  and what are some actual tips you would recommend?

Ah rain.    

Soggy blue jean bottoms and squeaky flip flops.  Frizzy hair and cold wet shoulders.  

And, the need for organization and change... 

In my den and living room and kitchen and bedroom and bathroom.  The girls are at their babysitter's house and I have little projects running around in my head.  I am taking advantage of time alone at home today and getting down to the nitty gritty dusty corners in my house.  A friend and I were talking last night and we both agreed but don't really know why new seasons spark such desire for change: in wardrobes, decorations, and possibly attitudes and spirituality.  I guess the galaxy is wired for never settling in any situation for too long.  

Last week Nick and I cleaned out our closets and decided what garments stayed and which ones to donate.  Yesterday I switched around pictures, mirrors, and table centerpieces in hopes to re-admire old pieces in my home while I can't afford to buy new ones.

Most of the furniture and knick knacks in my house are "hand me downs."  When I look around, I can tell you what divorce, death, or donation each treasured piece came into my home as a result of.  For example, my dining room table, china cabinet, and buffet came from my dear sweet grandmother after she died a year ago, or has it already been two?  There is a painting in my living room that my great great grandmother painted over 100 years ago.  The dresser and bedside table in my guest room was my mother's growing up and mine growing up also.  Both couches in my house came from Dad's house after his divorce and the club chairs that have rotated from living room to bedroom to now, the den, were given to me when my mom redecorated her home.  Then there are the drapes in my dining room and the floral print in my bathroom that hung in my bedroom when I was a single gal living in Old Cloverdale.  When I walk in each room in my house I have a memory attached to the pieces that give the room life.  

My family and my things are what make my house my home.

A Few Pictures from our Fairhope Trip