I have surprised myself and been able to avoid flour and sugar all week.  In other words, I needed a break from carbs as I was overdosing on them… and it’s working.  My appetite is way down and I feel great, actually.  The intensity of my weekday, hour-long workouts calls for upping the protein intake, but I wasn’t really doing it.  Now I get why the regular doses of protein throughout the day really do compliment extreme workouts.  I have more energy not just in class but hours later.  I still need to get more sleep but I have not had any headaches or bloating that usually come after a late night binge on cereal or whatever other carb is close at hand.  It helps that Dave has been grilling steaks almost every night and lettuce and cheese are virtually carb-free.  A nice salad with buttermilk dressing and shredded sharp cheddar goes great with a medium rare cut of meat!  Wow, I am really into this.  But it’s day 4.  Ask me about it next week.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

As crazy as it seems, I actually considered the first of the year that one of my resolutions was to take Thomas to a Wiggles concert.  The kid is a SUPER FAN of the Australian foursome.  How do I know this?  Because every chance he gets my 2 1/2-year-old wants to watch the group sing and dance on the TV, portable DVD player and the flip down DVD screen in the car.  We have almost all their CDs, too, and have even spent time watching countless clips of them on You Tube along with videos parents have posted of their kids getting tons of Wiggles merchandise for Christmas.  I knew he was obsessed when I walked down the hall by his classroom today and there among talk of sunshine and butterflies was my son’s quote that read, “One Spring day I wrote The Wiggles.”  His teachers know all about them… and the colors of their T-shirts.  The point of this post, as fate would have it, their North American tour schedule was just released for the year.  (Thanks blog reader, Emily, who alerted me since she’s raising another super fan!)  I could have screamed in excitement when I discovered The Wiggles concert in Chicago is the day before Thomas’ birthday on a July weekend.  We’re all going with Nana, and Papa is dropping and picking up.  Of course I joined the $5-plus a month fan club to get access to the ticket pre-sale.  This is nuts.  I even told my parents if for some reason I was unable to secure seats over the phone or on-line I would be out there looking for scalpers on the corner by the event center.  You know I would.  One other amazing thing, the theme of the tour is Big Birthday.  How cool is that!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

I may have mentioned shortly before we were going to move, I posted pics of our black leather couch/recliners and 3-tiered black frame on Craig’s List plus a decorative entry table for sale.  All the stuff sold in about an hour!  Because I priced it way too low.  I can’t help it.  When I’m out looking for a bargain, I mean cheap.  So that’s what I think buyers expect from me.  And my current garage sale pricing streak is making me second guess myself, because I made the mistake of asking other moms what they’re marking down–and it’s way over what I would think to ask.  So they’re going to make way more money than me, most likely, but I will move the merchandise fast and furiously–so fast my sale will be over well before the given hours.  Well I have to work so it has to be over.  Whatever is in the garage is not going back in the house, it’s going to Goodwill.  You should see how much more space we have in our unfinished basement storage area.  It’s actually exhilarating to look at, really!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

Here I go again.  Another Monday re-starting healthy eating to re-try to re-lose the same 20 pounds I’ve already lost before.  More than once.  It’s the point when you realize all the pants go untouched in your closet and you’re back to elastic-waist skirts that both annoys and motivates you.  Let’s hope it does, at least.  I started the third week today of my second, 10-week extreme fitness class.  Had I not been eating so crappy the first session, I wouldn’t be where I am right now.  The exercise only helps me maintain, or gain more slowly, because I have not been matching it with a better diet.  So another Monday is here and, again, I am in the zone mentally to get results.  But honestly the stress of the move coupled with the uncertainty of Dave’s health have been perfect excuses to pig out.  And it’s sad but that’s me.  It’s what I do.  Eat to make myself feel better, then I feel worse later.  A sick cycle, I know.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

Amazingly neither of my children has ever thrown up, until Thomas did twice Wednesday night–one time on half of me as I was lying right next to him.  The good news it flew across me and onto the decorative pillows that match our bedding.  Better those than the carpet underneath, I guess.  Daddy was able to wash the covers, but the comforter probably should have been dry cleaned.  It’s all bunched up and wrinkled.  Oh well.  Thomas is okay now after a couple days home with Mommy.  And of course I am barely able to keep my eyes open as I rush to type this before the Friday 10pm news.  Thomas napped three hours yesterday so he was up at 5:40 this morning.  I had to get up with him, too, as Dave was getting ready to leave for work.  Charlotte had conferences at preschool so she was home with us today and was not tired enough to take a nap… so I didn’t get one I was counting on.  Five hours is not enough sleep.  Why did I stay up to watch a pointless reality TV show?

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

I floated home from my speaking engagement last night in Dyersville.  From the moment I walked in the door of the women’s event, I could feel the love.  Compliment after compliment and welcoming smiles and waves.  It made walking up to the podium to speak for an hour in front of 430 people (all women and like three men) so comfortable.  And they laughed at my self-deprecating stories… so I loved them.  I got more and more open and over-the-top as the minutes passed.  From stories about panty liners in my armpits to runs in the pantyhose I was wearing, tidbits I shared seemed to resonate.  And of course it was another opportunity to share my faith and how it’s especially helping during a time of uncertainty with my husband’s health.  It was as I turned to make my way off stage and around to the back something so unexpected happened, I got tears in my eyes.  My first standing ovation in 16 years.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

Years ago I never got what people meant when they said, “I married my best friend.”  Until I married my best friend.  Now I’m the one telling younger, single friends that it is an awesome bonus in life when your spouse is the person you want to spend the most time with.  Seriously.  You know that moment when something big happens, good or bad, and you can’t wait to tell someone.  Or you’re at work and get a free moment to pick up the phone.  Dave is always on the receiving end.  He is my go-to person.  And yes, because he’s a guy, some times I have to repeat myself for him to get it or don’t always get the drama-filled reaction I was hoping for.  Okay, I never get a dramatic response.  But that’s the cool part of being besties with your man.  He never overreacts and is always my biggest cheerleader.  That’s it.  The key to my marriage working is that I’m with someone who makes me a better person and who respects me enough to be honest with me even when I don’t want to hear it.  It’s odd to me when people talk about going out with their boys or having a wild night on the town only with other women.  I don’t have nearly as much fun doing things without Dave alongside.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

Some might say I am a bit of an unconventional parent.  (Perhaps my husband.)  I like to call myself laid back. 

Examples here:

1)  I regularly take my children to preschool with damp hair.  Studies show a wet head won’t make you sick.

2)  Some times I let Thomas pour apple juice into his sippy cup.  Even at 2, he’s fairly steady with the jug.

3) Charlotte picks out her outfits and when they don’t match I let her wear them.  She has been called Pippi Longstocking.  To me, it’s self-expression.

4)  If they can reach it in the kitchen, they can go get it.  The gum thing has been a problem since Thomas swallows it, but I am not going to keep food under lock and key. 

5)  I share what’s on my plate or in my bowl with my kids all the time–using the same utensil.  I hope those who oppose it aren’t okay with a dog licking their face.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

For the first time since October, all of our stuff is under one roof.  It’s a great feeling.  Saturday we moved everything left in Mark’s basement into our now finished one.  And yet the unfinished, storage area is so substantial we have a lot of wiggle room in what could someday be a 5th bedroom.  Of course Dave and I moved all of it ourselves, with some assistance from a 2-year-old and 4-year-old.  (Sorry, I am supposed to say 2 1/2 and 4 1/2.)  It was amazing to see Thomas and Charlotte team up on each side of a plastic storage bin and carry it toward the moving truck.  I discovered hauling bins out and up from Mark’s house, then down and in to ours made me more sore than my extreme fitness class.  Weird.  My right hip bone is bruised from leaning the heavier loads against it.  I had to remind Dave there is a method to my madness in terms of sorting, stacking and storing.  Like my father before him, Dave is of the gender that apparently thinks it’s okay to pile everything up so it’s out of the way.  Then you don’t know where anything is and you can’t get to it if you do.  So he’s being a great sport and letting me keep all the bins scattered around on the floor until I can go through them and put a lot of it in the garage sale pile.  We’ve lived without it for months so do we really need it?  As the sale pile grows so does my concern about getting it organized and priced in time.  The good news is after spending hours all weekend tackling the job, I have most of the filled bins labeled and placed in a permanent place along with a lot of now empty bins that are a good sign we have reduced the clutter considerably.  I honestly never thought the day would come when I would be down to two storage bins of clothes that are either out-of-season or too small.  I have started to purge like a champ… actually I have started to accept that as I approach 40 the pieces from my younger days will not be appropriate even if I can someday fit back into them.  And odds are the latter won’t happen!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34

I always tell people how much Dave has saved on drinks over the years since he’s never had to buy me an alcoholic beverage or even a soda.  I don’t drink and stopped pop intake at 18.  In other words, I’m reminding everyone what a low-maintenance woman he chose for a life partner.  Then there’s the flip side I’ve considered.  My job involves a lot more upkeep than what I’d prefer.  Every weekday, day after day, doing my hair and make-up, putting on fake eyelashes, picking out an outfit and accessorising… trying to keep my real nails up with regular manicures or polish changes or touch-ups I do on the set… using tinted face lotion to give me a little color between spray tans… getting regular haircuts and highlights and having my eyebrows waxed and tinted… shaving my legs and washing my hair every day I go to my fitness class… then I have to get the kids ready.  If how I look on the weekends is any indication, I am in trouble if appearance does not factor in to my future employment.  I would and could let myself go in an instant.  That is a scary thought, actually.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 34