When I had my first child almost 7 years ago, I remember being shocked at how much my body changed. Not just the gain in weight, but the change in shape. I had said that if you still hadn't lost weight when you were dropping kids off at preschool, you couldn't call it baby weight anymore. Well, here it is 7 years and two more babies later and I'm still up a good 30 pounds. What is prompting this public posting of my weight concerns? My youngest starts school in the fall. Well crap.
I've been amazing at setting goals over the years. I get out a notebook and make myself a plan. It encompasses my diet, strength, flexibility and endurance. I've got a great workout wardrobe and have been paying for a gym membership for years that gets used once every couple of months. Lots of books, resources and a Pinterest board of amazing workouts, recipes and ideas. And yet, I'm still overweight. I can set goals, but I never acheive them. Never follow through.
So now I'm putting it out there. I'm trying to lose weight. I'm not going to make excuses, like blaming my husband and his non-desire to do this with me. Or my lack of time. It's time to admidt that if I can keep up on the latest episodes of Project Runway, that I could make more time for my fitness goals.
The kids may have helped me put on the weight, but I'm the one who has to take it off. And I'm going to.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Back to School=Back to Sick
Seems like as soon as we are back to class, we start with the sniffles. I hate busting out cold medicine every time one of the kiddos had a drippy nose. And with a little one in the house, a lot of those medication aren't aged for him anyway. So here is my go-to plan for colds. Of course, if you child shows prolonged symptoms or needs medical attention, seek it immediately.
Homemade cough syrup
One handful fresh thyme (I just grab the prepackaged pack in my produce section)
Water
Sugar or Honey (depends on age of child, read below)
Put the thyme in a saucepan and just barely cover with water. Low boil the thyme for 12-15 minutes. Strain the thyme out and reserve the liquid, which should be brownish/green in color. Bring back to a boil and slowly stir in sugar to make a syrup as it's cooking and let cool. I use enough sugar to begin to notice it getting a little thicker while hot (about 3/4 to 1 cup depending on how much liquid you have). It will thicken more once cool. Keeps in the fridge for several weeks - just dole out a spoonful (for a little one, use a medicine plunger) as needed
For a child over 1 year, start the same, but instead of adding sugar, stir honey into the warm liquid until dissolved and store.
Tea
As a kid, my mom always made us tea for a cold. Lemon is a natural antiseptic and honey has many benefits. A nice cup of warm, decaf tea with lemon and honey can be very soothing.
Chest Balm
Vicks or Vicks Baby are both good options, but I prefer Badger Balm Winter Balm. It's much more mellow but does just as good a job. It's all natural and I feel better using on my baby.
Humidifiers
I've heard so much debate over cool mist and warm mist. But my kids have the cute Crane animals in their rooms and they make a huge difference. Vicks humidifiers (with the vapor liquid) for bigger kids can really help through the night too.
Snot Removal
Kleenex are great and all, but the raw nose seems like a given after a few days. I admit that I thought they were overkill when I first saw them, but Boogie Wipes are great. They are gentle and soothing to the nose and have saline to help keep the nose really clean. And what about a little one who can't blow? Nose bulbs are gross, no getting around it. But the Graco automatic aspirator is worth every penny of it's $20 price tag. It really works, plays music to distract baby and is easy to clean. The collection area is clear so that you can see what comes out. Icky? Yes, but snot color is key when a bub is sick.
Good luck with your little one and their noses!
Homemade cough syrup
One handful fresh thyme (I just grab the prepackaged pack in my produce section)
Water
Sugar or Honey (depends on age of child, read below)
Put the thyme in a saucepan and just barely cover with water. Low boil the thyme for 12-15 minutes. Strain the thyme out and reserve the liquid, which should be brownish/green in color. Bring back to a boil and slowly stir in sugar to make a syrup as it's cooking and let cool. I use enough sugar to begin to notice it getting a little thicker while hot (about 3/4 to 1 cup depending on how much liquid you have). It will thicken more once cool. Keeps in the fridge for several weeks - just dole out a spoonful (for a little one, use a medicine plunger) as needed
For a child over 1 year, start the same, but instead of adding sugar, stir honey into the warm liquid until dissolved and store.
Tea
As a kid, my mom always made us tea for a cold. Lemon is a natural antiseptic and honey has many benefits. A nice cup of warm, decaf tea with lemon and honey can be very soothing.
Chest Balm
Vicks or Vicks Baby are both good options, but I prefer Badger Balm Winter Balm. It's much more mellow but does just as good a job. It's all natural and I feel better using on my baby.
Humidifiers
I've heard so much debate over cool mist and warm mist. But my kids have the cute Crane animals in their rooms and they make a huge difference. Vicks humidifiers (with the vapor liquid) for bigger kids can really help through the night too.
Snot Removal
Kleenex are great and all, but the raw nose seems like a given after a few days. I admit that I thought they were overkill when I first saw them, but Boogie Wipes are great. They are gentle and soothing to the nose and have saline to help keep the nose really clean. And what about a little one who can't blow? Nose bulbs are gross, no getting around it. But the Graco automatic aspirator is worth every penny of it's $20 price tag. It really works, plays music to distract baby and is easy to clean. The collection area is clear so that you can see what comes out. Icky? Yes, but snot color is key when a bub is sick.
Good luck with your little one and their noses!
Bad Wife Confession
It's shameful. Downright shameful.
But I'm going to throw it out there. Ready. Okay.
(deep breath)
I don't know what my husband does for work.
Obviously, I know what his title is and where he works. But what that actually means and what he actually does, I have very little clue. I'm not a techie person and I married a very, very techie guy. He's built a pretty impressive career in software and other than knowing he's good at what he does, I have no idea what that means.
He works in other languages like Java, Agile and Kanban. Even when he's speaking English, most of it just doesn't connect. I must look like a monkey doing a math problem when he's explaining work stuff to me.
So after years of reciting off his current title and praying that no one asked any more questions to clarify what that means, I have come up with an awesome explanation of exactly what he does for work.
My husband is a super geek, who teaches other geeks how to be better, more productive geeks.
Like that? Yeah, I'm guessing he's not going to. Oh well, it's not like he can relate to what I do all day either, eating bon-bons on the couch and all.
But I'm going to throw it out there. Ready. Okay.
(deep breath)
I don't know what my husband does for work.
Obviously, I know what his title is and where he works. But what that actually means and what he actually does, I have very little clue. I'm not a techie person and I married a very, very techie guy. He's built a pretty impressive career in software and other than knowing he's good at what he does, I have no idea what that means.
He works in other languages like Java, Agile and Kanban. Even when he's speaking English, most of it just doesn't connect. I must look like a monkey doing a math problem when he's explaining work stuff to me.
So after years of reciting off his current title and praying that no one asked any more questions to clarify what that means, I have come up with an awesome explanation of exactly what he does for work.
My husband is a super geek, who teaches other geeks how to be better, more productive geeks.
Like that? Yeah, I'm guessing he's not going to. Oh well, it's not like he can relate to what I do all day either, eating bon-bons on the couch and all.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The 24 hour bug
There are few things that strike fear into a mothers' heart more than the unmistakeable sound of a child vomiting. Yesterday was scary. Very scary.
K started just before lunch, and the poor bub is still too little to understand what is going on. Of course, my dear, sweet husband is out of town. And God love him, he is a great dad, but bodily function desensitization didn't kick in with him like it has with me. A mom will make a bowl with her hands to grab vomit before it hits the floor. Dad is usually gagging with his back turned. But a gopher for paper towels would have been handy.
So here are a few of my suggestions for getting through the day (and night) with a sickey.
First-Do your best to occupy other children with an activity that can keep them seperated. Chances are if one goes down, they all will. But keeping them seperated can also be keeping them out of the line of fire.
Second- As if you won't be doing enough cleaning, clean more. Make sure sheets, washclothes and handtowels get a good hot water or sanitizing wash. If your sickey is little, make sure you give all pacifiers, teethers, bottles or sippies a hot, soapy wash. Same goes for toothbrushes. You can vainly hope at heading it off by getting real serious with some extra hand washing, sanitizer and some house cleaning.
Third- BRATT diet. I know that when your kid is relocating all their lunch, feeding them more is not always on the list. And they may well not be interested at all. But if they do want to eat, stick to a BRATT diet. Banana, Rice, Applesauce, Toast and Tea. Simple, bland, easy to digest. Make sure your tea is decaf. I also opt for fitness waters over the kid forumlated electrolye drinks. They are much cheaper and taste better. I spent the extra dollars once on the kid ones and found out that my kids' won't drink them, money wasted. I'm not a fan of the sugar substitutes, but I'm willing to make an exception to keep them hydrated.
Fourth-Nightime sheet changing prevention. My daughter is 5 and has been potty trained for years. But if she has the flu, she is still sleeping in a pull up with a plastic bowl on her nightstand. I have had one pack of pull-ups that have lasted 3 years and we may never use them all, hope we don't. Kids have a hard enough time getting to the bathroom in the night, so make it easy on them and you. And be ready with backup. Make sure you have a mattress pad on the bed and opt for washable bedding, rehome any super sentimental keepsakes for the night. I often lay a towel on the floor next to the bed as well. Lay out a change of bedding and a change pj's before bedtime. And have a clean towel or two ready to go on the bathroom counter. For a baby, all you can do is be ready with lots of extra bedding and pjs. If you can move to be closer to baby, might be a good idea.
Five-Thanks to the wonder that is Murphy's Mom Law, chances are your child started showing signs of being sick a few minutes after your pediatricians office closed. So keep an eye on fevers and any unusual behavior and be smart when using any OTC meds. Before stores close, make sure you have some ibuprofen, Immodium (for an older child), something they like to drink, and diaper cream (even for an older kid, raw bums are no fun at any age). Keep kiddo as comfortable as possible. Know who to call in an after-hours emergency and call your ped first thing in the morning.
Good luck and feel better soon.
K started just before lunch, and the poor bub is still too little to understand what is going on. Of course, my dear, sweet husband is out of town. And God love him, he is a great dad, but bodily function desensitization didn't kick in with him like it has with me. A mom will make a bowl with her hands to grab vomit before it hits the floor. Dad is usually gagging with his back turned. But a gopher for paper towels would have been handy.
So here are a few of my suggestions for getting through the day (and night) with a sickey.
First-Do your best to occupy other children with an activity that can keep them seperated. Chances are if one goes down, they all will. But keeping them seperated can also be keeping them out of the line of fire.
Second- As if you won't be doing enough cleaning, clean more. Make sure sheets, washclothes and handtowels get a good hot water or sanitizing wash. If your sickey is little, make sure you give all pacifiers, teethers, bottles or sippies a hot, soapy wash. Same goes for toothbrushes. You can vainly hope at heading it off by getting real serious with some extra hand washing, sanitizer and some house cleaning.
Third- BRATT diet. I know that when your kid is relocating all their lunch, feeding them more is not always on the list. And they may well not be interested at all. But if they do want to eat, stick to a BRATT diet. Banana, Rice, Applesauce, Toast and Tea. Simple, bland, easy to digest. Make sure your tea is decaf. I also opt for fitness waters over the kid forumlated electrolye drinks. They are much cheaper and taste better. I spent the extra dollars once on the kid ones and found out that my kids' won't drink them, money wasted. I'm not a fan of the sugar substitutes, but I'm willing to make an exception to keep them hydrated.
Fourth-Nightime sheet changing prevention. My daughter is 5 and has been potty trained for years. But if she has the flu, she is still sleeping in a pull up with a plastic bowl on her nightstand. I have had one pack of pull-ups that have lasted 3 years and we may never use them all, hope we don't. Kids have a hard enough time getting to the bathroom in the night, so make it easy on them and you. And be ready with backup. Make sure you have a mattress pad on the bed and opt for washable bedding, rehome any super sentimental keepsakes for the night. I often lay a towel on the floor next to the bed as well. Lay out a change of bedding and a change pj's before bedtime. And have a clean towel or two ready to go on the bathroom counter. For a baby, all you can do is be ready with lots of extra bedding and pjs. If you can move to be closer to baby, might be a good idea.
Five-Thanks to the wonder that is Murphy's Mom Law, chances are your child started showing signs of being sick a few minutes after your pediatricians office closed. So keep an eye on fevers and any unusual behavior and be smart when using any OTC meds. Before stores close, make sure you have some ibuprofen, Immodium (for an older child), something they like to drink, and diaper cream (even for an older kid, raw bums are no fun at any age). Keep kiddo as comfortable as possible. Know who to call in an after-hours emergency and call your ped first thing in the morning.
Good luck and feel better soon.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Call it what you want
The last couple of weeks have found me doing a lot of soul searching. You could call it Yuppie Guilt, Mommy Guilt, or called to do more. I'm going with the latter. I've already got guilt in spades.
You see, I am one of the blessed. And it's pretty likely that if you are reading this, you are too. Even if you aren't happy in your job right now, having a fight with a friend or wondering what do with your life, you are probably still clothed, fed and sheltered beyond your basic needs. Just the fact that part of my day included stressing out about how organize the massive amount of toys and clothes my kids have is a sign that we not only have enough, we live in excess. I do my best to teach my children gratitude, teach them how to give to others and not ask for themselves. But it is difficult and something we, and I'm sure many others, struggle with.
Knowing all that, I can't help but think about the kids and families in this world that don't have enough. Kids without toys, shoes, even a toothbrush. A mother who can't give her child the basic things they need, let alone have the joy of giving her child a gift and seeing them smile. It just brings a sadness to my heart that I cannot even explain.
So I try. I try to give my time. I try to give my gifts. I try to teach my children. And will my trying make a difference? I need to think so. For the sake of my kids and the world they will grow up in, I need to think so. I would rather be a drop in a bucket than an empty bucket.
So I will keep trying. And I hope you will to. Find a project, find a first step and take it. Take it with your kids. You'll never regret the path and you'll never turn back.
You see, I am one of the blessed. And it's pretty likely that if you are reading this, you are too. Even if you aren't happy in your job right now, having a fight with a friend or wondering what do with your life, you are probably still clothed, fed and sheltered beyond your basic needs. Just the fact that part of my day included stressing out about how organize the massive amount of toys and clothes my kids have is a sign that we not only have enough, we live in excess. I do my best to teach my children gratitude, teach them how to give to others and not ask for themselves. But it is difficult and something we, and I'm sure many others, struggle with.
Knowing all that, I can't help but think about the kids and families in this world that don't have enough. Kids without toys, shoes, even a toothbrush. A mother who can't give her child the basic things they need, let alone have the joy of giving her child a gift and seeing them smile. It just brings a sadness to my heart that I cannot even explain.
So I try. I try to give my time. I try to give my gifts. I try to teach my children. And will my trying make a difference? I need to think so. For the sake of my kids and the world they will grow up in, I need to think so. I would rather be a drop in a bucket than an empty bucket.
So I will keep trying. And I hope you will to. Find a project, find a first step and take it. Take it with your kids. You'll never regret the path and you'll never turn back.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Alone
It's a Friday night and I'm as alone as I get in my own house. It's just me, a pay-per-view chick flick and my three dogs. This time of the night, the dogs are basically area rugs. They are mastiffs and pretty much refrain from lifting their own body weight after 7 pm. So I sit, well protected, to spend a little time by myself. And breathe.
My day started with a 4:30 am wake up call from my 3 year old. In an attempt to get a bit more sleep, we opted to let him climb into our bed. This is always tempting in the middle of the night, but do not be fooled, NO ONE is going to feel rested come sun up. And we did not. The rest of the day was a blur of movies, administering antibiotics to my entire family after a diagnosis of strep throat and my vain attempts at clutter busting.
I used to savor nap time as my own. But recently my husband has started working from home and I'm still adjusting to it. During the day this means that someone is here to roll their eyes at my trashy TV and toss judgemental "are you really still on the couch" glances my way. Yes, I'm still on the couch watching Project Runway. If you had the morning I had and was still able to orchestrate the most beautiful of all motherly acheivements, The Trifecta Nap, then you would reap your much deserved couch time too.
So tonight, when I mentioned a movie that I wanted to watch and hubby decided he'd rather read than be subjected to Kate Hudson for even a minute, I did not protest. Didn't suggest an alternative movie. Just decided that tonight, I'd be alone.
Alone with my computer, alone with my movie, alone with myself. It feels nice. It feels soothing. Like I'm taking care of myself in a way I rarely do.
Tomorrow is a whole new day. A full one at that. And even if it starts at 4 am with a knee in my ribs, as it just might, I will feel a bit better for just having taken a bit of time alone and enjoying it. And enjoying breathing.
My day started with a 4:30 am wake up call from my 3 year old. In an attempt to get a bit more sleep, we opted to let him climb into our bed. This is always tempting in the middle of the night, but do not be fooled, NO ONE is going to feel rested come sun up. And we did not. The rest of the day was a blur of movies, administering antibiotics to my entire family after a diagnosis of strep throat and my vain attempts at clutter busting.
I used to savor nap time as my own. But recently my husband has started working from home and I'm still adjusting to it. During the day this means that someone is here to roll their eyes at my trashy TV and toss judgemental "are you really still on the couch" glances my way. Yes, I'm still on the couch watching Project Runway. If you had the morning I had and was still able to orchestrate the most beautiful of all motherly acheivements, The Trifecta Nap, then you would reap your much deserved couch time too.
So tonight, when I mentioned a movie that I wanted to watch and hubby decided he'd rather read than be subjected to Kate Hudson for even a minute, I did not protest. Didn't suggest an alternative movie. Just decided that tonight, I'd be alone.
Alone with my computer, alone with my movie, alone with myself. It feels nice. It feels soothing. Like I'm taking care of myself in a way I rarely do.
Tomorrow is a whole new day. A full one at that. And even if it starts at 4 am with a knee in my ribs, as it just might, I will feel a bit better for just having taken a bit of time alone and enjoying it. And enjoying breathing.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Crusts
I refuse to cut the crusts off of a sandwich. I let them stay on the plate, but I am not going to help with process.
She used to like crusts.
She used to like cheese. We are going through an "I don't like cheese" phase. She still like pizza and cheese roll ups and tacos. I guess because they aren't straight up cheese. I know she still likes cheese, but sometimes being difficult gets more attention.
She hates eggs. Loves quiche. If anyone tells her that quiche is eggs, I'll kick them in the shins.
Usually I'm so happy that someone is eating that I'll let the little things slide. But I'm not cutting the crusts off.
She used to like crusts.
She used to like cheese. We are going through an "I don't like cheese" phase. She still like pizza and cheese roll ups and tacos. I guess because they aren't straight up cheese. I know she still likes cheese, but sometimes being difficult gets more attention.
She hates eggs. Loves quiche. If anyone tells her that quiche is eggs, I'll kick them in the shins.
Usually I'm so happy that someone is eating that I'll let the little things slide. But I'm not cutting the crusts off.
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