stuck

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I heard Elizabeth calling for me in the other room. She was stuck, and couldn't get out, I heard her say.

I went into the living room to find this:

"Look up, Elizabeth."  "I am looking up!"

A little tip of the bucket, and she was able to free herself.

what I don't post about

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I was visiting with a friend and her family recently.  As we were siting around, both of us were going "Hmmmm..." trying to think of what to say.  We've been friends since elementary school, and we've shared a lot of experiences, even though we've lived in different states since we were 12 years old. Now, truthfully, we're both moms, and our lives are consumed with raising our families and getting through daily tasks.  But surely, there are things to talk about other than children?

It occurred to me, as I sat there, that much of my interest and reading in recent years are on topics that I just won't discuss with most others, because I really don't want to push people away.  I have the impression that my friend and I might disagree a great deal on some topics.  And that's just that friend, to say nothing of all the others I have out there.

There are things that might be uncomfortable for others to hear me out on, and that really aren't worth loosing friends on (because when I get into a discussion, I can be very preachy, passionate, and hard-headed, and sometimes I don't even have good reasoning for why I believe what I do).  Now, the other side is that I don't feel that other people are bad people or bad parents if they hold a different opinion or choose something other than what I would choose. But, by the very nature of saying that I disagree with any given thing, then it automatically puts me at odds with another person's opinion and can come across as a personal judgment upon them.

So, that's all to say that even if I make a different choice, I still like you. :)

And then, there are other things that might just ick people out...

The List

medical interventions in labor/birth
"natural" childbirth
vaccinations
circumcison
gender identity and sexual orientation
breastfeeding
reusable menstrual products
carseats/child safety seats
politics (okay, maybe some light discussion...)
homebirth (yes, I know I've posted some about this, but not to the extent that I could!)
whether my home is north or south of the Mason-Dixon line, and whether I should rightfully be called a Southerner or Northerner (just kidding!)
and probably a slew of other things I've forgotten

Maybe in time I'll find a greater voice for some of these issues, but until then, can't we all play nice?

14/14 week 14 - done!

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I am at the end of my 14/14 challenge.

Unfortunately, I managed to NOT loose any weight.  On the upside, I didn't gain any, either.  Just bounced up and down in a 6 pound range.

I did increase my daily exercise, from none to 6 days a week. I have now proven to myself that I can walk at a 3.5 mph pace for 60 minutes, which feels like forever (on a treadmill)  I have proven that I can jog/run at least a 5 minute stretch. (By the second time around, though, I'm nearly dreading it!  Today's workout is something I've been procrastinating...)

Where do I go from here?

I will proceed onward.  I don't have a challenge name now.  Maybe I should come up with something creative?
 
I'm actually trying out the slimfast diet.  Not something I intend to do indefinitely or even for more than a few weeks, as I don't see it as a lifestyle change.  I'm using it as a boost to get my weight loss going.  My goal is to start getting used to smaller portions, and to find meals and recipes that will allow me to feel well fed, but not be high calorie. I've adapted it already - I don't sub breakfast, because I can do breakfast just fine - oatmeal or a yogurt and some fruit are both excellent starters for me.  Lunch is my slimfast meal of choice, until I run out of the stuff.  Then, it will be up to me!

In a peculiar experience yesterday  -

I ate about 4 ounces (about a cup)  of raw carrots yesterday afternoon for a snack.  Apparently, this was a really bad choice.  I've known carrots and me don't always get along, but I'd been feeling okay recently when I ate them.  So, yesterday - I ate the carrots, and felt okay after about 10 or 15 minutes, I started to feel like I was going to vomit. Kind of a heartburn/vomit combination.  (usually carrots give me a heartburn sensation) I went in to the bathroom, because I felt fairly confident that I would see my carrots again.  But, as I stood there, my salivary glands started kicking in overtime.  I could feel my mouth fill with saliva, and I needed to swallow every few seconds. After a short while, the heartburn and vomit sensation began to go away, and within a few minutes I felt perfectly fine.

So, lesson to me, I guess is to chew my carrots very thoroughly and with a lot of saliva.

self entertainment on a monday morning

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I guess I was feeling the need for a creative outlet.

 

 

Sleeping Beauty is serving as my model. Good, since the hat and scarf won't fit any of my children.

The scarf I made a few months ago, just to see if I could remember the one crochet stitch I know. I made the hat this morning as an experiment to see if I could figure out how to make a hat.

Small scale is good.

Elizabeth is just about tickled pink at a hat and scarf for her doll.  They are now ready to adventure out into the snow.

vinegar as dishwasher rinse aid

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I've been using distilled white vinegar as a rinse aid in my automatic dishwasher for several months. I've seen people all over the internet touting it as a great idea. I was hoping I would be impressed, but unfortuantely, I am not.  I was hoping I would have a cheaper, environmentally friendly alternative to rinse aids like jet dry.

Maybe I'm judging it by the wrong criteria, though.  While using vinegar, I didn't typically have spots on the glasses.  I have started to notice an obvious clouding on the glass.  If vinegar is supposed to help prevent that, it's doesn't work for me, at my water hardness.

I'm going to go back to using Jet Dry, in hopes it can remove some of the cloudy film.  Interestingly enough, in all the years of washing dishes by hand, a cloudy film on the glasses was never an issue. 

Go figure - automatic dishwashers AREN'T  the miracle they might otherwise appear to be!

disposable diapers aren't perfect, either

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I've had N in disposable diapers at night for the past week or so. 

It has been an unpleasant reminder that disposables aren't superior to cloth in terms of leaking.  That's the thing I almost always hear people express concern about: that cloth diapers will leak.

Well, all kinds of diapers can leak.

Two times this week, I discovered that N's diaper had leaked, and his clothes and the bed were wet.

I was especially irritated last night, because for the first time in for-EVER N had slept for more than 3 hours without waking up fussing.  I wasn't keen on waking him to changed everything.  He really resisted waking up, too, but he couldn't hold at all the jostling around to get him dry.

Also, a reminder to self - check the direction of the equipment before diapering.  I think that was my flaw this time.

Fortunately, I'm anticipating a return to cloth at night tonight, after having completed my cloth diaper overhaul. I look forward to hoping it's resolved the occasional ammonia burn!

NTDI episode 11 - Funky Diapers, part 2

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I almost posted the same episode title as episode 9, before I realized that the same tune and alternate words I was thinking for today were what I used then.

Oh well.

So last time on NTDI, I was trying to tweak my routine to get those last few stinks out.  I still am tinkering.  I've been enjoying the use of Rockin' Green, and generally, I feel it does a good job.
Over the last month or so, I have been coming up with occasional diapers of all sorts that were stinking badly of ammonia after an hour or two, and I realized I have slipped into using disposables again at night because of those infrequent really bad smelling diapers in the morning (not always, but often enough), leaving a read ammonia burn on N's bottom, and sore spots that were having trouble healing.

One thing I realize is that I am not always vigilant about changing the boy's diaper in a timely fashion.  That alone would make a big difference in rashiness. Bad Mommy.

So, I've been intrigued by the Funk Rock diaper treatment that Rockin' Green recently came out with. I want to know if it will deal with the post-wash lingering odor.  The stuff is not cheap.  I'm guessing there's maybe 20 tablespoons of powder in there, and it takes 4 to do one session of 20 diapers.  (Apparently, it can be used as a regular pre-treatment, with 1 tbsp per load as a preventative measure, but I'm not there yet) I'll be close to using up the whole bag dealing with my diapers.  I'm mostly curious to see if it gets the funky smell out (a smell I have yet to accurately describe - not barn-yard, not ammonia, but kid of skunky when I put my nose and take a big sniff when they come out of the washer - generally they smell okay out of the dryer).  Ammonia in the day time really isn't a big deal when I change the boy more regularly.  I honestly think some of the stink has more to do with the boy's stinky toddler pee.  Sometimes, even the disposables smell awful, so I know it's not just the cloth!

And, a (long) disclaimer, of sorts - I don't want people considering cloth diapers to be discouraged by my tale of odor. I think most parents don't over-think it like I do, and I think most aren't perpetually trying to find the "perfect" wash routine like I have been (at least I hope!)  The funny odor I smell sometimes after washing doesn't make me want to not use the diapers - I just want them to be perfect and like new when they come out of the washer (ha!  They're almost 18 months old - good luck with that, C!) Clearly, even tinkering with my routine for 3 years, the diapers are still usable, and they don't cause friends and family to tell me my kids stink. I'm just a perfectionist. Maybe if I didn't sniff the diapers out of the washer each time, I could forget about it. 

14/14 week 13 - almost not there?

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I'm enjoying my running sessions.

I did a yoga video on Saturday, and I felt it for DAYS afterward. Clearly, I am not accustomed to that kind of stretching. I think I'll have to do it again! 

I've also been doing strength training with hand weights.  I have learned that an 8 pound weight is definitely too light for biceps work, but just about right for everything else currently in my routine. I feel my abs, oh how I feel them!

I think I'm going to make an effort to stop weighing myself each day.  I think at this point, I'm just disappointing myself each day that the scale doesn't move. So maybe I'll go to twice a week, or even once a week. Then, I can be happy if the scale moves, or only be disappointed once a week.

I think for this coming week (week 14?! ack!) I'll just keep on keeping on. We don't have any big holiday plans, but I've been making an effort to keep the food at bay, after a bad last several days.  We made cookies and pie over the weekend, and I enjoyed a more than few too many cookies.  The remainder are now in the freezer waiting for a family gathering to share the wealth of calories.  We're actually going to be making more cookies in the next day or two, but I know that if I choose to, I can restrain myself from over-indulging, and I can store them until its time to share them.

And, note to self - Egg Nog Bad. No drink. Too many calories! The kids sure do love it, though!

Here I come week, 14!

mondays

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Randomness:

I did day 2 of my couch to 5 k program (see coolrunnings.com).

It's cold. and snowy.  E wants to go play outside.  I will have to bundle us up for a walk outside this afternoon when (hopefully!) it is a little warmer.

I was looking though photos, and I realized that I have a bunch of photos I took for the purpose of posting to the blog, that I have totally neglected.  Anyone want to see photos of my grape juice process, now that all the grapes are gone, and we're drinking up the results?

I realized I have 8 months of receipts to enter into quicken. That's probably 10 hours of work. Ouch.  That tells you how long it has been since I reconciled my credit card statement.  Thankfully, my check book is only 2(!) months behind.  I am grateful that we aren't on a tight budget.  I suppose if we were, though, I might keep on top of my finances a little better.

I'm a glad that my brother in law is currently playing with my kids while I am lazy, sweaty, typing, and in need of a shower.

I have more cookies to make today.  I made about 6 cups of frosting yesterday for the purpose of decorating "shapes" cookies, which have not been baked yet.  However, I succeeded in baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies and white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. I have been using my homemade vanilla extract!

I need to run about 10 more miles today to make up for yesterday.

Did you know if feels good to be sore? Hello Yoga.

I saw a picture of myself at my brother in law's wedding last year (different BIL.  Jude has 4 brothers. And 6 sisters. Yes, his mother birthed all of them. At home. She rocks.) Anyway, back to the picture. I looked heavier.  It's nice to see a picture from a year ago, and know that I am 10 pounds lighter, and that it is noticeable, even if the past 3 months have seemed fruitless!

Did I mention I love snow? My husband will write me out of the will if I keep saying things like that. I was disappointed that Wal-Mart didn't have the snowflake cookie cutter I was looking for.  Because, you know I need more cookies, right?

I should go back to the treadmill....

happy anniversary week!

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This week marks the 8th year that Jude and I have been married. YAY!

Since we will not be together on our actual anniversary, we've been having a good time all weekend.

Yesterday, we drove an hour to go see Tangled in non-3D with the kids. It was Nathanael's first movie - at least, the first where he's actually watching the film. We all enjoyed it, even Jude!  Thankfully, it was in no way a scary movie, since Elizabeth doesn't like scary things at all.

I made a pecan pie yesterday, but we never got around to eating it, since we got back from the movie so late.  Oh well!  Just one more thing to enjoy today.

Church was canceled, so we get to hang out together.  We're hoping that a friend will be able to make it over here this afternoon, and we'll have a White Christmas movie day (how this will be different from the other days of watching white christmas is something I'm not too clear on). Since it's a beautiful (cold!) snowy day, I think we'll stay inside and bake cookies. Lots and Lots of Cookies (as Elizabeth would say) and send them with Jude when he goes to work.

Happy Day!

to host giveaways or not to host giveaways...

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I've been playing the blog giveaway game for about 6 months now.  I think maybe I'm hanging around blogs that like to give stuff away too much, though, because I've been contemplating having the occasional self-sponsored giveaway.

What do you all think? 

If I did host giveaways, should I start a different blog for that purpose?

Are there some obvious questions I should ask myself before proceeding?

14/14 week 12 - done with walking!

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I "completed" the prevention program.   I skipped 3 days last week, but I was so dreading the long walks on the treadmill, I'm not going to try to finish them. I was so bored, and so not looking forward to dealing with my kids while I was trying to work out.  I feel good about having done most of the program!

For this coming week (week 13), I'm starting a couch to 5K running program.  I've never been a runner.  You know how in school they made you do a running test for some fitness assessment? Totally not my favorite thing.  I remember in 6th grade (when I was especially chubby because of changing, hormonal, transitioning girl-ness) doing the run/walk thing.  I don't remember how long it took me to walk (running only when necessary and in the eye of the PE teacher). I do remember the horrible stitch in my side when I ran. I remember this being the case in high school, too.  That's what I'd been dreading about starting a running program.

You know what?  I did day one on Monday, and I ran for 60 seconds, alternating with 90 seconds of walking, for 20 minutes (with warm-up and cool-down on either side of that).  I never once had my side hurt.  My knees started to twitch, and my shin started to ache a little, but otherwise, just fine!  Maybe I'm in better shape than I was even in high school, even if I am 30+ pounds heavier than I was back then.

I watched The Biggest Looser tonight. Seeing that the female contestants lost 12-15 pounds in 6 weeks at home makes me reevaluate the amount of effort I'm putting into really loosing weight. At the low end, that 2 pounds a week. That would put me so close to my 14/14 goal, even if it isn't going to happen by the end of 2010.

I feel like I've put forth a lot of effort for what seems like practically no return in the scale numbers. It's disappointing and frustrating.

On a different note, I took a look at some of the before and after/in progress photos of some of the ladies that I hang out with online. It hasn't happened fast for those ladies, but it has happened.  They have families, they are figuring this out without a personal trainer breathing down their neck.  Several have had babies in the midst of their weightloss journey, but they persist. It's easy to look at people I don't "know" and think about all the advantages they may have.  When I see people like me, that I interact with on a regular basis making progress, THAT is inspiration!

So, even though I'm clearly not going to meet my 14/14 goal, even though I wanted to have an awesome story to have chronicled about a real person working and succeeding at dropping to a healthier weight, I'm not going to give up.  I do regret that I feel like I've wasted 3 months (in terms of not moving the scale), but I'm going to work at figuring out how NOT to waste then next 3 months.

toddler tantrums

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Nathanael is a dramatic little guy.

When he is protesting something - usually a firmly delivered "No," he does one of the following

A) covers his face with his hands, and proceeds to wail

B) flops dramatically onto my chest/lap

C) all of the above

It humors me to see this, and often, I can't help but laugh.  Until it's been going on for several minutes, and then it's not so funny.

Okay, still a little funny.

squirrels and birds

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It's the time of year to watch birds, and shoot at squirrels with our pellet gun.

It's kind of fun to shoot at squirrels, in a very rural Missouri, redneck kind of way.  Half the time IF it hits them, the just look at you.  Not very effect, but at least it feels like I'm doing something.

So, considering that it's not an effective deterrent (shooting them, that is) I bought something that might be a little more entertaining:



Thus far, I have seen no squirrels.

I've seen no birds at our feeders, either. So much for Jude saying they "remembered" that we fed them two winters ago. I haven't seen any reminiscing birds.