Mooooo!!!

I'm very excited, as this Wheely Cow is out for delivery with UPS today. It is gonna take a lot of will power to keep it from Henry until Feb 14!!! (even bigger bonus - I bought it "free" with amazon.com gc's we get as credit card rewards)!!

Would you drink a milkshake for breakfast?

Now you all know how much I love Starbucks. It's my life line many days. Sick and wrong, I know. But anywho. So, this morning, I watched the woman in front of me order a venti Caramel Frappuccino®. She was practically salivating as the barista swirled a tower of whipped cream, followed by ribbons of caramel. Now I'm generally not one to judge other people's nutritional choices, cause I certainly don't always make stellar choices myself. But, it's 15 degrees outside, that thing has 500 empty calories and 16 grams of fat! Just for shits and giggles, I looked it up and yes, a small milkshake from McD's has less calories than that venti Frap! In other scary news, the largest milkshake they have (32 oz) rings in at a scary 1, 160 calories. I think I've been watching too much Oprah (the last two days have been about obese children).

Seriously though, would you drink a friggin' milkshake for breakfast!?

25

Days that is, since Henry started daycare, or "school" as we call it for his sake (and maybe a bit for ours too - it just feels better than saying daycare). This morning when I dropped him off, I removed his hat, hung up his coat, chatted with him a bit and then he took the teacher's hand and went off to see the babies. He likes to go see the babies in the morning (and no we won't be giving him a sibling any time soon thankyouverymuch!), so that is often the distraction used when I am leaving. This morning, he DID NOT CRY!!! I was so happy!

In other news, my treadmill walking is going well. I did take roughly a week off during the plague, but now I am back at it. Some nights I have to force myself, but so far I'm sticking to my 6 days a week. I know I chose wisely to start small and my back is already feeling a bit better. I kind of want to get a bosu ball because I think it would be great for my balance & core, but again, I better stick to my small goal for a month or two before I start adding on.

And one last random note, I think I might be slightly lactose intolerant. Without getting too gross, having digestive issues has always been pretty common for me, but not to an extent that it really bothered me. So, post-plague as I slowly returned to the land of normal eating, I of course went into for my usually non-fat chai tea latte. And it gave me a stomachache. And crazy bloating. So after two days like that, I switched to soy in my chai. Holy crap! What a difference. So, I think I'm jumping on the soy bandwagon.

Two

Henry is rapidly approaching two years old. Valentine's Day is the big day. He really is at a fun age and we feel very fortunate that he is such a big talker for his age (I didn't say much at all until I was nearly 3). He is very curious and I swear you can just see his little mind working as he examines things. He seems to know almost all his letters and can sing the beginning of the alphabet. He can count from 1 to 10, but won't do it if you ask, I only catch him doing so on his own! He can also count down, at least from 4 to 1, as he did so last night while pushing rubber duckies into the tub.

Now, all of those things are great fun and I really am enjoying him these days, but that being said, it's coming with a wicked stubborn independent streak. Two days ago I practically had a wrestling match (scary how strong a 2 year old is, or does that show that I am weak?! troubling.) with him to get his shirt on. He gets very mad when you remove his jammies, unless of course he is watching television while you do so. We are also having some strong words when there is food involved. I have tried giving him options and it works sometimes. But other times, it's like he isn't listening, or just doesn't care and he won't answer when I ask, "turkey dog or chicken nuggets"? (I know, I know, thrilling culinary choices!). So, I make a choice, sit him down and the table and we get screams and protest. I tell him to "use your words" and all I get are "NO CHICKEN NUGGETS!". Which I will say is a vast improvement from the "NO WANT IT" phase we went through, but still, not really the desired conversation a tired, stressed mom wants to be having.

I'm sure that this too will pass, but I'm gonna throw it out there, mom's who have been there, done that, what have you done to help encourage GOOD behavior from your kids regarding routine things like getting dressed, eating meals, etc? I've read 1-2-3 Magic and we are getting ready to lay down some house rules and some time outs. There is some info about timers and positive reinforcement charts, but I'm just wondering if 2 is too young? Any input welcome!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

You know, I used to religiously enter the Lucky magazine Lucky Breaks giveaways. And at the beginning, I actually won a bunch of stuff! A Crabtree & Evelyn Gardener's kit, an Express cashmere t-shirt, lots of little lip glosses and assorted beauty stuff and the big win was a $300 Elini watch! But then life got busy, I got lazy and stopped entering. Enter wild hair in November and voila!

I'm now the proud owner of Bieux Skin's Power Lift & Repair Serum!According to their website, here's what it's gonna do for me...
"Creates an immediate, visible lifting effect and provides ongoing treatment of the visible signs of skin aging (patent pending) Clinically proven improvement in skin aging including visibly firmer, tighter, more radiant skin."

Sounds good. I'll let you know how that works out. Thanks Lucky Breaks and Bieux Skin!

"I'm just one stomach flu away from my goal weight."

Well, not exactly, but things have been a bit rough around my household for the past week. Yep, stomach flu. And it totally and completely sucks. Luckily Henry's round one was literally just one round (cleaning out a puke soaked car seat may be the most disgusting thing I have ever done). But he has been left behind, stuffy nosed and with a hacking cough reminiscent of a pack a day smoker. Just when I thought we had survived without receiving the infectious plague, it struck both my husband and I, at nearly midnight on Sunday night. And to add insult to injury, HDog still had a fever on Monday, so we spent all day watching PBS cartoons, praying to the porcelain god and trying to negotiate who felt worse when H needed more attention.

The rest of 2009 better be golden after the shit storm of a start that I've had!!!

Random plugs

1) Love this stuff. Yes, you can wash clothes covered in massive amounts of puke just one time and this stuff seems to kill and smell and funk involved. Bless you Clorox2.

2) I have slowly but surely been won over by dooce. Lord knows she doesn't need my help with spreading the word, but I'm definitely going to pick up a copy of her book, It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita. Though I didn't have the breakdown to the extent that Ms. Dooce did, I unfortunately went through the suckage that is post partum depression after Henry's birth. It took me seven months to realize it and seek some help. It's something that I haven't talked about much, but as I get further and further from it I do my best to be open and honest about my experience. If my blabbing could help just one new mom it would be worth it. Anywho. I'm certain the new book will be honest, sarcastic and pretty damn funny. Looking forward to it.

Two steps forward...

and now for the one back. After just three days back at daycare, Henry has the stomach flu. Lovely. Tossed his cookies, in the car seat, just one block from daycare this morning. Poor kiddo. Trying to remain positive, but puke patrol is NOT my idea of a good time. Fortunately there is no fever. Let's hope for a 24 hour quickie.

And I pray we don't all catch it.

Looking Up

Things around here are starting to look and feel better. Thank goodness, since the holidays were a pretty lousy funk for us this year. First, a few random notes:

• My beloved Granny passed away on NYE. My brother in law said she did so just in time to renew her soul as a New Year's baby. I like that thought. And that she & my GrandDad are together again after two long years apart.
• My sister's family is rapidly preparing for their move to China. My mother is out helping my sister pack. The best part is, we've all purchased web cams and joined Skype so we can see one another and talk for free. I swear I've seen more of my sister, my nephew and my parents because of it!
• Henry slept through the night last night! As did I, for the most part. I have been battling some pretty nasty insomnia that I'm pretty sure goes hand in hand with my own stress and Henry's separation anxiety.
• My house is clean :-) I swear, I would cut out a meal, or clothes or something vital before I would lose my bi-monthly visits from my cleaning ladies. They rule!

So, I'm finally starting to feel more balanced and optimistic about 2009. Amazing what a couple days of healthier eating and one single better night of sleep will do! I've been bouncing all sorts of thoughts about my get healthy plan around in my head and have decided the time has come to jot them down. I've really realized that slow and steady is my main goal. I want to make small, manageable changes that I can always come back to if I slip up. In past I've been very all or none - super healthy or super unhealthy and I think it has been my downfall all along (cue music & light bulb symbolizing revelation...). So, here is the beginning of my list, which I plan to slowly build on as my habits improve:

• Make better food choices - Chose to eat whole foods - less processed, more fruits, more veggies and lean protein.
• Walk 30 minutes, 6 days a week.
• Complete ab work after every walking session (this will help my back pain)

So, that is all for now. I want to start some strength training, perhaps focusing on one muscle area per session, but I decided last night to just do walking & abs for a little while. I think too much too fast it what does a lot of people in when starting a regimen.

Oh, and I have been eating a ton of salmon in the past few days. My husband cooked the most delicious planked salmon recipe this past summer while having TCP family over for dinner. We made it again for my family over the holidays and I had forgotten just how amazing it was. I seriously might need my husband to make me a giant piece of salmon like this every week. Anywho, I've gotten off track of my reason for mentioning the salmon. I know salmon is supposed to be good for your skin. Frankly, I've been feeling pretty fat, old and wrinkly lately. I'm sure the sleep deprivation hasn't helped, but I swear I think all the salmon is helping in the skin department. I just looked...better this morning...can't quite explain it. Wonder how quick that is really supposed to help, or if I am just imagining it...

Fatness Fog

I'm lost in it. Stress snowballed over the holidays, along with my waistline. While hanging with my family, I just let it all go. And I wasn't really holding on that tight before the holidays! So, now I sit working in my yoga pants, because although I can get into the jeans, they certainly aren't comfortable.

I know, I know, a few of you who know me in real life would say, "You are not fat". And really, I'm not saying I'm fat, just flabby, inactive and not healthy. Can't remember how much I spilled about my back pain, but beginning in August '08, I suddenly developed some pretty sharp back pain. I went to my regular doctor. She said, ice and Advil for 5 days. Check. Still hurts. Waited a while. Still hurting. Met with an orthopedic specialist who sent me to physical therapy. Physical therapy helped, but did not alleviate the problem (which is probably a bulging disc around my L4 or L5). It totally sucks. I feel like a 33 year old woman in a 65 year old body. I cannot bend straight down and pick a basket of laundry from the floor.

So, I'm not going on a diet. I've tried that in the past, been wildly successful with losing pounds, but haven't committed to a lifestyle change. I need to work out and eat healthy on a consistent basis. I spent too much time being lazy in my relatively naturally thin body and I'm paying for it now. Can't say I have a super detailed plan just yet, but I'm reading SuperFoods HealthStyle (taking inspiration from Kath Eats Real Food - thanks!), trying to make some gradual changes, and stick to them.

I Wish

I wish my Christmas had been a bit merrier this year.
I wish I could spend even more time with my sister, her husband and my three nephews before they move to China in less than a month.
I wish Henry would sleep like a baby every single night and wake up happy as a clam each morning.
I wish that my house would magically stay clean.
I wish I had finished undecorating the Christmas tree yesterday.
I wish I had finally gotten my act together and eaten healthy throughout the holiday season.
I wish I had a hot chai latte sitting next to me right now.
I wish my basement had not flooded during the recent snow thaw.
I wish I could bottle the happiness I feel when spending time with my whole family at the holidays.
I wish I could always vividly remember the joy on Henry's face this Christmas.
I wish I could win the lottery.
I wish that my beautiful Granny will rest in peace, now that she has joined my GrandDad.
I wish that 2009 will be a wonderful year for all!