Puke & Packing Peanuts

My husband was in two Fantasy Football leagues this season, as he is every season for the last several years. This year he won one of the leagues and in this league, the winner receives a giant trophy.

Said trophy arrived in the mail today. It arrived in a big box. Coincidentally (or not?), this week in Timmy's preschool it was Box Week - they created things with boxes, hid in boxes, played in boxes, decorated boxes, etc. Well, Chris opened his trophy and inside was a delightful assortment of long pieces of paper, bubble wrap, and packing peanuts. The box was also the perfect size for not only a three-year old to fit inside, but also for a two-year old. Both Timmy and Natalie climbed in. It was fun for them, playing in the packing peanuts. They threw some up in the air, popped the bubbles on the bubble wrap, crinkled the paper, and enjoyed the fun that only toddlers can. (Except for maybe the bubble wrap - Chris and I both enjoyed that a little too much.) I was focusing on their fun and not on the mess they were making. Most of the contents did remain in the box, so Chris said, "I'll clean it up."

Today is Thursday, so Chris needed to go upstairs and change for basketball. I stayed downstairs with the kids and was rocking with Samuel. Samuel felt that during this time it would be appropriate to regurgitate his previous meal all over me. I was clearly not thinking when I went upstairs to change my clothes and get the puke off of me. Chris said, "I fear what they're doing down there," as we listened to the laughter and shrieks of delight coming from down below.

"I've learned to not fear it and just accept it," I told him.

I am pretty sure Chris regretted saying, "I'll clean it up."

BTW - Packing Peanuts are incredibly static-y. I mean, so much that when you put them in the trash they fly out the top and stick to the wall. This being said, Chris and I ate ham out of a bag for dinner and the kids had a fruit bar, an orange, and a banana.

Resolution Update

Well, we're four days into the new year and I'm doing pretty well! I even read a book! Granted it was 53 pages, but it was a book no less. And it had me bawling. I got it free on my phone and holy cow...tears. The Glass Case was basically about a young mother of three dealing with the loss of her own mother during a scary moment in her life.

I also started back up on MyFitnessPal (add me - mommy2tns - if you have an account!) and am getting a lot of encouragement from my fellow July PR mommies.

Sam is getting two teeth! He also was able to push his chest off the floor today. This is big since he's never really been into tummy time.

That's about it :)

First Blog of 2012! Resolutions...

I am posting my official resolutions for 2012 here on my blog so that I can be held accountable for them.

[one] I am starting the year off at 165 lbs. By the end of the year I will be down to at least 135 and be maintaining a healthy weight.

[two] For Lent this year I will be giving up all pop and alcohol.

[three] My 366 project will be a picture of Sammy for every day of the year. This is my third year doing a yearly project so I know I can stick with this. Two years ago it was a random pic each day for a year. Last year I did a pic of each kid for every day of the year. I would do the same this year but Tim and Nat were so sick of the camera that I don't want them to hate having their picture taken so I'll only do it with Sammers this year.

[four] I will blog at least once a week.

[five] I will keep a handwritten journal so that I can remember all of the important moments of 2012 like the kids' milestones and funny quotes.

[six] Back up all of the pictures I have on my old computer, Chris's work computer, and Cherie's old computer. Delete them from hard drives so that there is more memory available.

[seven] Read a book every month. I love to read but never stick with a book that I start. My book for January is She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I have actually read this before back in about 2005 and started rereading it again last month, but I didn't get very far. I will finish it by the end of the month! I am taking recommendations from everyone for books you think I'd enjoy. Books I enjoy - auto/biographies, mysteries (but not heavy ones and things with too many story lines. I won't even touch a book if it's thick like Clancy books LOL), and family-oriented novels. Books I do NOT like or won't read: Potter, Twilight, Romance fluff crap, and anything that will leave me crying for weeks because it involved the deaths of twenty-three children.

[eight] I will play with my children more doing things they want to do. I will get on the floor and pretend to be a "Dino-Rex" if I have to. (Dino-Rex is what Natalie calls dinosaurs) I will play outside with them even if it's freezing cold or a thousands degrees outside.

THERE.

Stress.

I have been under a lot of stress; family issues, personal issues, you name it. Christmas is closing in and I have such a mess of clutter down in the basement that I need to go through and get wrapped and so many projects I still need to undertake with very little time to do so.

Add to it that I came down with the flu or something equally sucky over the last few days. Fever of nearly 102, terrible head cold, body aches, the whole shebang. I've felt so terrible and while I'm slowly feeling better, I'm still not feeling great.

To top it off, the kids have been unbearable. They collapsed Natalie's SECOND crib tent this morning (thankfully Chris salvaged it), Timmy has been peeing in his underwear for no apparent reason, Natalie is going through a stubborn hitting phase, and neither of them listen at all anymore. I do realize it comes with the age, but with so much stress I've been dealing with, it doesn't help.

Chris hasn't been feeling great either, so thankfully my parents came to the rescue and took Timmy and Natalie for the night. I should have some time tomorrow to go through the things in the basement and maybe make a few things.

It got to the point today where I deactivated my facebook account before I vented something and regretted what I said. I'll probably reactivate it tomorrow or Wednesday when I'm feeling a little better. A break is good every so often.

I'm excited to start the New Year off right. I have so many new ideas and goals for 2012. First, I won't be doing 365 with Timmy and Natalie. I'll continue it with Sammy because for now I can still just snap away and he doesn't care. The other two are sick of pictures. I thought I'd also start a new 365 project where I take a picture of the same item every day. I already have this picked out but won't unveil anything until the New Year.

As far as weight loss goes, I'm at a stand still and not going to worry about it until the holidays are done. I did weigh myself today with the fear that I'd gained a ton but I was at 162.5 so I can't complain! Being sick helps I'm sure, haha!

Another goal for 2012 is going to be to actually blog more, spend less time on facebook and the computer all together, and to work hard at being the mommy and wife I've always wanted to be. I need to hold myself accountable and I need others to hold me accountable to keeping with my goals.

In other news, Sammy has started eating solids! This child lives to eat and loves to eat. He is constantly on the boob so I thought that I'd start him on solids and see if he was ready and boy was he! He polished off a whole thing of bananas at dinner tonight! He loves it. He's so funny! He opens his mouth as wide as it can go and sticks his tongue all the way out in anticipation of the next bite. He's so unlike Natalie in this sense where with her I had to force her mouth open and finally gave up and she didn't eat solids until she was nearly eight months old.

As much as I love the holidays, I am looking forward to being done with them this year. I can't wait to start fresh in 2012!

Laundry Fun!

I know, how can laundry be fun? Well, it is when you're mean. First of all, I actually love folding clothes. I am an odd duck.

Anyway, the point of my thread is to announce that I have gone all domestic and frugal even more by making my own laundry detergent! The wonderful girls over at Recycled Soup posted this recipe for making your own soap!

I cut their recipe in half and used 4 cups of washing soap, baking soda, and bar soap and 6 cups of Borax. I also used only 1/2 oz of fragrance oil (I found a nice Rain scent at Meijer, but it smelled really strong in the jar so I didn't want to over do it).

The most tedious part of the process is "shaving" or "shredding" the Fels-Naptha, but the kids had a blast "helping" me do it. They pretending to be shredding the soap while I really was doing it (with a Dollar Tree cheese shredder) and while I was shredding it the kids and I came up with a name for our very own Laundry Soap. Are you ready for this?

Lightning McPlex.

Yep - Lightning McQueen for Timmy and Plex for Natalie LOL.

I also have the ingredients to try out the fabric softener, but didn't make it yet. I will whip it up tomorrow and run my first load with my new soap and softener!

Revamp!

My blog has had an official REVAMP! My favorite color is PURPLE (no one got this right during my recent "how well you know me" status on FB) so I really wanted an "icy" and purple themed blog layout. I found a background I liked online and my awesome friend Lesha, aka BUDDY, from Recycled Soup (one half of this awesome blog, another awesome friend, Amy, shares this blog with her) hooked me up with this great creation! I was actually inspired by my beautiful niece, Alex, and her color guard outfit:

I love these colors and I love winter and cold weather...I know...what is wrong with me!? Anyway, I hope you love the new look as much as I do!

Monday Weigh-in

I have really slacked off over the last week. Eating ice cream snacks and had some pop. UGH. Despite all that I am down to 163, so that's a start! I was 165 two weeks ago, so even though I haven't lost much at least it's not going up!

I had an appointment this morning and sat down in the room and across from me was a huge mirror I looked so....UGH....fat and rolly polly. Yuck. I am so sick of feeling so down on myself for being so out of shape. Having three kids in the last four years has really taken a toll on my body and while I'd do it again, I wish I'd have worked harder at keeping the weight down.

One thing that I know would help me feel better about myself is, once again, having clothes that fit me properly. I take all the time to build great wardrobes for my kids but never take the time to do anything nice for myself. It doesn't help that I am totally clueless as to what to buy that would look good on me and I don't have the money to spend. I wish I could have someone shop for me and dress me up and make me look good because I don't know how to do it for myself. I want to be one of those moms that looks as good as her kids but I just don't. I wear the same two outfits to church each week. I'm sure the people around me assume I don't have any other clothes, which is pretty much true. I bought myself a couple new pairs of jeans a couple months ago - then I gained twenty pounds and I can't get them on past my fat thighs. The jeans I do have that fit are old, have holes in them, and stains. I look like SAHM Trash.

Anyway...I don't mean to complain. I am working hard towards becoming the Mom I want to be inside and out and I do love myself. I'm pretty rad. I think I'm pretty, but only from the neck up. When I'm done breast-feeding I would love to be able to have a breast reduction. And a tummy tuck. And while we're at it, how about a nose job?

Three. The age.

Wow. Three is certainly a trying age. Timmy has been going back and forth between being a funny, sweet, clever boy and being a stone's throw away from being sent to live with a pack of wolves. Today all he did was complain and whine to the point that I had to just laugh to keep myself from screaming at him. He wants ice cream, no he wants pie, no he wants both, no he wants neither. He's so fickle. I think that's a good word for it.

The sad thing is, Natalie is already like this at age two. I am praying that she's getting the threes out of her system now so that when she is three she'll be done with this. But I've also been warned that it never goes away. I don't know about that, but what I do know is that something in this house has to change or my head is going to start spinning.

Yuck.

Before I get into the point of my post, just have to say I am still working on a new title and blog layout for my blog. I realize my baby is four months old (today!) but I am slow at these things.

Anyway. Last week I actually buckled down and started on some new goals as the first step towards my weight loss journey and for the most part I did pretty well. The basic "rules" are no eating after 8pm, no pop or alcohol (though a little wine or wine cooler is okay, nothing hard), and pretty much just eating smaller portions at meal time and less snacking in between. I've also been making a point to drink a glass of water each time I go into the kitchen. Some days I'm better at this than others.

I started out last Monday at 165 and on Friday was 163.5, so that's a start.

Today we had Sammy's dedication at church. My sister took pics for me and I just got them put over onto the computer and man...I look so grossly overweight and frumpy. My self confidence has plummeted once again just reminding me of how much I really need to focus. So tomorrow, not only will I continue with my better eating habits, but I will also be adding as much exercise to the regimine as I can. I'll try to do the shred a few times a week as well as some walking and other workout videos I can find. I know that there are some free things on demand.

I am so sick of being the fat one of all my friends and family. I used to be the thin one that everyone accused of having an eating disorder. Why can't I just find a happy medium?

Something I don't talk about

Today I am going to talk about something I don't talk about very often - me. Most of the time I write about my kids because, well, let's face it - I 'm a mom; that's what I do.

But today we are going to talk about me and how I am fluffy. I am overweight and aside from the luck I get of having Hyperthyroidism while pregnant, when I'm not pregnant all I do is continue to gain weight.

I must admit, I am pretty lazy when it comes to actually trying hard to lose weight. Last year I had a membership at a gym and I'd go ride the bike or do the elliptical for an hour a few times a week and was able to maintain my weight, but couldn't lose a pound. After I had Sammy I was down to 145. ONE. FORTY. FIVE. That is 25 pounds under what I was when I got pregnant with him. ONE FORTY-FIVE. He was born in July. It is now November and my weight? 165. I have gained back 20 pounds. While some women might look forward to being back at their pre-preggo weight, I do not. I do not want to be back at pre-preggo weight.

I eat like I've never eaten before. I snack. I eat what I can when I can because when you have little ones, it's hard to actually sit and enjoy a meal. Therein lies the problem - I overeat. A lot. I eat at midnight. I eat at all hours of the day.

I don't exercise regularly. I like to take walks, but it's just not easy to take a walk with three kids when two need to be in either a wrap or a stroller and one could go in a stroller but refuses and keeping him by me is a challenge.

I made a new account at www.myfitnesspal.com and used it for one day. I really need to buckle down, focus, and really work hard towards my goal. Today I weighed 165. I'd love to be 135 again. That is 30 pounds to lose. I think I'm going to start with small goals with small rewards. I am also going to work really hard on portion control and not snacking so much. I need to drink a lot more water and a lot less pop. And I need to start exercising. I bet I can get the kids involved with that. Maybe they'll do the shred with me :)

If all else fails, I'll just bench press my kids a few times a day.