Weight-Loss and Gain

I've been trying to lose my baby weight for about 11 months. (Read: Since the baby was born. Haha!) I did lose the majority of it in the few months after he was born, but I've stalled out. I'd still like to lose about 12 pounds. One of my New Year's resolutions was to lose this weight. Let me be honest here... I haven't been sticking to my diet very well. If Papa Bear would stop making chocolate chip cookies every weekend, I think I'd have a better chance. I have no willpower. Zero. It's really sad. The first few days of 2010 did not go well as far as food are concerned.
This week, I've been doing much better. I know one of my huge issues is eating when I'm bored, and eating when I'm actually thirsty. Also, my addiction to Diet Dr. Pepper. At least it's diet, I guess. That's how I rationalize these things, folks. It's sad.  I'm trying to drink more water. I keep a pitcher in the fridge all the time so it's nice and cold. I'm also trying to stop eating when I'm bored. If I do eat when I'm bored, I need to make better choices about what I'm eating. Not chocolate chip cookies... Today was a good day. I ate very little! I'm not trying to starve myself-that would be bad, but I didn't go crazy and eat all these snacky items between meals. I'm also trying to eat what Baby Bear eats. That kid eats better than Papa Bear and I, mainly because I don't feed him the crap that we eat.  For example, today he had turkey ravioli and peas for lunch. So, I made myself some steamed veggies and ate a slice of cheese. (I don't eat peas. They're only in the house for Baby Bear, hahaha!) If I consistently make better food choices, and watch my portions, I believe I can get rid of the rest of the weight. A little more exercise would help too.  =P

Now, weight gain- At Baby Bear's last pediatrician appointment, he'd only gained 4 ounces in a month. While the doctor said it's not uncommon for them to drop off, he was concerned because I mentioned Baby Bear was a pretty picky eater. Baby Bear loves his vegetables. But it's hard to get him to eat cheese, meat, or most fruits. We've been working on getting him to eat more to ensure he keeps growing. Today was a red letter day for eating. He ate an entire container of yogurt and a whole piece of toast. He probably would have eaten more, had I offered it, but I was concerned he wouldn't eat much lunch if I did. So, when lunch time rolls around, he ate his entire container of pasta, about 1/2 a cup of peas and two handfuls of puffs. I even got him to take some sips from his cup! That's a huge deal!  So, w00t! He needs to gain, and I need to lose. We're going to get through it together!
 Lastly, I'm following my friend Ashlee's blog, Fat Mom Blog, as she goes on her weight loss journey. She's having a giveaway this week, some awesome 100 calorie soups from Progresso, a soup bowl and a jump rope. Check it out! Also, read her blog, because she's awesome and deserves the support. =)

Not an Auspcious Day

Today was rough. I won't go into details, but Baby Bear is learning to test the limits. It's been a trying day, but I had a good, long talk (text?) with a good friend and I'm feeling much more centered. Zen.
Sometimes you have to step back and take a breather in order to get a grip on things. In my quest to become the "Best Mom Ever", I have to realize that even the best moms aren't perfect. Being the best mother to your child requires constant, minute changes to your parenting. Every day presents itself with some new challenge. Constantly moving, constantly meeting the changing needs of your child. (It sounds exhausting when you think of it that way!) All in all, today taught me a few things. First, don't believe everything you read. Second, though it was rough, I know one day I'll look back and laugh when I think, "Remember the day Baby Bear tried to eat the Christmas ornaments?".  One day I'll miss that. When I'm frustrated that he won't nap in his crib, I have to remember that he won't always want to snuggle with me on the couch. I have to take each day, one step at a time. I can't rush him.  They say God won't give you more than you can handle. He must me smiling at me, struggling with the handful he's sent my way!

What's this? An Update?

I know you all can't believe it. Once you have recovered from fainting we'll continue.

Good? Ok. Here's some water. Let's do this.

As you all know, I resolved to be a better mom. That's such a tall order. It's not as if someone has told me, "You are a bad mom." I feel like I could be better. I'm directing the criticism at myself. Baby Bear is happy, healthy, and growing well. He's well-fed, clothed, and loved. But I can't help feeling that I could do better. Maybe I'm too hard on myself. Who knows? All I know is that I want to feel that I'm doing better. I don't know that I can even tell you what it is I'm supposed to be doing better. I just harbor (probably irrational) feelings of inadequacy. We're not going to dive any further into my psyche, I promise.  Just providing a little background information.

Anyway, Baby Bear and I are now attending Music N' Me classes. We went to our first on Monday. I can't stop talking about it, honestly. It was so much fun and Baby Bear really enjoyed himself. We had such a good time that I realized that this is exactly what I need. It's hard being a SAHM and doing basically nothing all day. There are only so many times you can visit Target. (Also, there's that point where you're walking around just placing random things in your cart-it's far too easy to spend money we don't really have budgeted out.) I want to get involved in more things like Music N' Me. For instance, I'd really like to start swim lessons with Baby Bear. But, that's another expense we haven't budgeted for. Wouldn't that be an awesome winter activity though? Getting to swim in a nice heated pool when there's snow on the ground holds great appeal to me. And, I love to swim, so any chance I get is awesome. I wish there were a YMCA fairy that would allow me to get a membership.  But I digress. The point I'm trying to make is that I need some outside direction on what to do with Brody. I wish someone could come over and give me ideas of what to do all day with him, besides chasing him around the house, preventing him from eating dog food, etc. I wonder if there is a book of age appropriate activities.  The library here has some amazing resources for homeschooling moms, but most of the materials start at preschool age. There's got to be some aimed at toddlers. What to daycares do all day? It's not like they're just letting the kids crawl around the room. Maybe they are, I don't know.
So, to get to the point again, these classes are great. I feel it's a good first step toward my attaining my goal of "Best Mom Ever."  It's humble, don't you think?

Resolutions. Goals. Dreams.

I have never made New Year's resolutions before. I find it difficult to hold myself accountable when I have something challenging ahead of me. I mean, this is not always true. I KNOW I can follow through with things, even in difficult situations, such as the time when I was working full time and in school full time. That was tough, but I made it through and I graduated. I know it is possible to make some changes.
I want to be a better mommy. I feel like I could do more with Baby Bear as far as interaction, education, and what not. I want to have the energy to do this. So, my resolutions are:
1. Lose the rest of the baby weight. It's been almost a year. I can't use the excuse, "I just had a baby." I only have about 10-15 pounds to lose to get back to where I would like to be. I can make this happen by making healthy food choices and making an effort to exercise more. I've got the Wii Fit. It's not like it is strenuous exercise, but it is SOMETHING I can do during the winter. As soon as it warms up, I'm walking everyday. Maybe we will find the extra money to get a Y membership.
2. Be there for Baby Bear. This includes not going back to sleep after his morning bottle. (Note: I am the one going back to sleep.) It usually takes some time to convince him that he needs to go back to sleep also, so I can use this energy to start some coffee, hop in the shower and start my day. EVEN if I am not going anywhere that day!  This will help us get on a better schedule and maybe his naps won't be so erratic. Also, make a point to TURN OFF THE TV. After I watch the news in the AM, it needs to go off. Better yet, it should never come on. I can tune into NPR on my laptop and get the news that way. No more zoning out when I could be playing with Brody or getting chores done.
I know number 2 encompasses many things, but it's a big change and it's something I want to do. I need to get my life together! My baby is almost a year old! Let's get back to reality, here! I've got to embrace my "Mommyhood".
I just feel like I've been a failure as a mom, lately. I know we can't all be supermom. I know there are worse mothers than me. But when I was pregnant, I never imagined that I would be this way. I planned for so much more! My baby was going to know sign language! I was going to read two books, everyday! Well, that didn't happen. So, now, almost a year later, I need to change. I need to be a better mom. That's just how it needs to be.

The Holidays

Now that the craziness of family gatherings is over, it's time to update you on what's going on with Baby Bear, Papa Bear and I. I can't lie. It's not like I've been insanely busy since September and that is what has kept me from posting. The truth of it is, there's been a whole lot of nothing going on in my life. It's hard to update you all when it would sound something like, "Baby Bear ate a whole cup of peas today!" I don't know. Maybe you DO want to hear things like that. Either way, one of my resolutions is to keep up with this blog a little bit better. (I do also want to throw in that Papa Bear keeps telling me he's going to help me build a blog on our server; but like so many things he wants to get done, it hasn't happened yet. So, for a short while, I didn't update with the anticipation of moving this whole thing to the server.)
Anyway, Thanksgiving and Christmas were excellent. I throw them in together because we celebrated Christmas at Thanksgiving with the in-laws. We visited my family for Christmas, so it was fair.  Baby Bear received a boatload of toys and clothes, as well as some money for his college savings.  Natl-doo gets cuter every time we see her. She's growing up so fast! She was quick to share her toys with Baby Bear, like a good cousin does. I hope they become close. Sis and I always had (and have) a close relationship with our cousins growing up. I'd like for Baby Bear and Natl-doo to be the same way.
Speaking of cousins,  one of mine has moved to our area! He and his lovely new wife will still be an hour away from us, but it's a lot closer than before. Plus, it will give us even more excuse to visit the city now and then.
I was introduced to a great cloth diapering store recently. A friend took me there earlier this month and WOW! I was blown away. It's so cute! It's called Comfy Bummy and I am in love with it. The staff was super helpful and they have a great selection. A little background information: I'm currently using gDiapers with cloth inserts. The gCloth is outrageously priced, so I'm using prefolds and some inserts a friend made for me. (Her blog is here. Check out the cuteness!) I am planning on trying my hand at making a few inserts. However, the woman at Comfy Bummy was a spring of fluffy knowledge. She showed me all the inserts available, and also let me know about the basics, like using plain prefolds with covers vs. pockets vs. AIOs, etc. Now I just need to win the lottery so I can stock up on some fluff for Baby Bear. My prefolds are not the best... I want something better and am working on getting to that point.
Now for the fun. Here's a few Christmas pictures of Baby Bear and crew at Christmas.

Natl-doo and Baby Bear sharing.

The obligatory "bow on the head". Also Papa and Mama Bear.

The next day, playing with Uncle Ray.

Opening presents.

Well, naptime has ended abruptly, so I'll sign off here. See you soon!

Do you like my new layout?

It reminds me of a Prius commercial. It's so happy and upbeat and perfect. I want my life to be like a Prius commercial. Not that my life isn't happy. It's just not a Prius commercial.
It's winter! There's a crapload of snow! I'm in the house all day naming shapes and colors, singing silly songs, and doing other Mommy things.  Still, it's a good life.  But not a Prius commercial.

Huge update tomorrow during naptime. See you then.

Random Goings On

Hello. I am cute and I plan on eating all of these bananas.


I know it has been a long while since I posted, and I apologize for that. My life just isn't intresting enough for daily updates. Ha!
Baby Bear is doing well. He's almost gotten himself crawling. He actually has learned to commando crawl within the past two days, literally. Yesterday, we were all sitting in the living room, and the next thing I know-boom. He's in the kitchen. So, I guess it is about time we get some baby gates up. I also need to go on a major cleaning spree as he's all over the floor and I'm getting to be freaked out about what things are going in his mouth, since EVERYTHING does. I am not saying my floors are littered with crumbs, trash and debris-just that we walk on those floors with shoes. And who knows what you are bringing in on your shoes! It's a bothersome thought to me.

I got a phone call yesterday from the emergency clinic I interviewed at in July. Guess what? They offered me the job. I asked for some time to think about it. Pros: I'd be keeping up with my skills, could possibly go back to school. Cons: Childcare becomes an issue, I can't work all night and be up all day with Baby Bear, and it's an hour away from here. I think, for now, the cons are definitely overpowering the pros. So, I am planning on turning it down. It's just not right for me at the moment. Maybe when Brody is in school I can think about emergency medicine again, but until then, if I am thinking about a job, it needs to be a day clinic.

We had a housewarming party this weekend. I had a nice time and our friends did surprise us with some very nice gifts. Thank you again, everyone! That also means the house is finally unpacked, and I can send you all some pictures of the inside. Possibly, I will post a few on here, but expect an email. I suppose I should get going, and mop the floor whilst Baby Bear is napping.