Weigh-In Wednesday: Ab Advice Needed.

Good morning, fellow shrinkers!

Are you shrinking?? How did you do this week?

I stayed exactly the same. No change whatsoever. Although I stayed within my points. (I think.) There were a few days that I went over my points but I took from the weekly alotted anytime points, but I didn't go over those, so I'm not sure why there was no change. I did do more weight-lifting than usual and I did a different swim routine (1500 meters -- an all time record for me!) but I didn't lose anything. But maintenance is good. I'm ok with that. I'm one with the non-scale victories.

Did you watch the Biggest Loser last night? We at the Sisterhood added in a special side of hilarity by messaging during the show and then doing a couple challenges ourselves during the show. Like, for instance, pounding some water. And then dropping and doing 20 (which my husband actually got in on. He dropped and did 32. We're dorks, yes.) And then doing a 60 second squat hold in my pink robe. My husband thought I looked like a complete idiot and didn't keep that to himself either, using words like "asinine" and "ridiculous". Thanks honey. But I think we're going to make it a regular thing, so are you up for a challenge during next week's Biggest Loser??? Go read April's recap too!

Anyhoo. I have a side-project I need to work out.

In addition to weightloss, I have this little issue of the post-baby belly thing going on. I was hoping it would shrink away with the rest of me, but it's still kinda hanging on for the ride.

I have broken all laws in Christie-dom by purchasing a pair of Lucky Jeans on supersale (love them!) in a size I have never ever purchased before. Never. They fit everywhere. My butt. My length. My thighs. Except for that top button. I bought them anyway because they fit everywhere else and they were on supersale, but that damn top button! That little bit of tummy wayyyy down at the bottom. A pooch, it may or may not be called.

I have heard that I may be screwed here in that if you gained a lot of weight during pregnancy (like me), it will probably not go away without surgical intervention. I'd like to save that couple thousand bucks and give 'er a try. Obviously all the cardio I've been doing (re: triathlon) hasn't fixed the problem.

Any ideas to target that specific area? Please share. How did you do this week? Don't forget to visit all the sisters!

Weigh-In Wednesday: Ab Advice Needed.

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/weigh-in-wednesday-ab-advice-needed.html

Potty Training 102

Not mere hours after I posted this (and if you haven't read it, go read it and please leave your input), my 22 month old went peepee in the potty.

He saw his brother go before bathtime and he went on the tiny musical potty and there you go.

Yep. Looks like we're getting a jump on things.

I'm going in for round two, people.

Wish me luck.

Potty Training 102

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/potty-training-102.html

Potty Training

A few of you asked me about when to start potty training so I thought since it went so smoothly at first for me and then all of a sudden, it didn't (in fact our lovely trip down Potty Lane Road turned into quite a wild ride over here for a while), I thought I'd open it up to everyone to give their two cents on the matter. So mommies everywhere, got some advice? Please do share in the comments. Inquiring minds so indeed want to know! Meantime, here's what I think:

(**Personal disclaimer: I support everyone with their own opinion on the matter, even if it's different than mine. Whatever works for you is the right thing for you, I do not judge.**)

For me, personally, I think it's time to start potty training when a child is able to know when they are pooping or are about to poop and can say the words poop or pee, because that means they will be able to learn how to go about their business and will even be able to tell you if they need to go. Communication is a big plus in potty training, to me.

This, for us, was when my oldest was 2 1/2. Some, like my younger one, may be ready for it sooner. (I'll let you know when I embark on that trip.) But my older son's school recommended the book Diaper Free Before Three. Now, I didn't really go with the whole potty train a 9 month old thing as the book advocated, because honestly, I was already cleaning up a bunch of poop off the floor at age 2 1/2 and I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have read all the poop and pee cues right for my 9 month old and therefore I'm pretty sure poop would have been a much larger part of my life for a much longer period of my life and pretty much, that wasn't for me, but you can feel free. But I really did love the book for the rest of its potty training advice, and do highly recommend it.

But right around 2 years old, we did do some prep work. We had gotten a musical potty just to sit on with and without clothes, just to have him get used to sitting on it. I would read to him and we would sing songs and nothing ever really happened. I wanted the potty to be a happy place. Then we bought a child potty seat to go on top of the big potty and sat him on that, both with and without clothes. Not expecting anything, just sitting on it a few times a day to get him used to it.

Then we officially started the "training" during the Thanksgiving break last year when he was 2 1/2. I, as the book advised, literally just stopped using diapers cold turkey (mostly, anyway, and how's that for an unintended Thanksgiving pun?) and it really did work for us, because within three days, he was going pee pee on the potty and his teachers were in awe of my amazing toilet training skillz.

Little did they know of course, that the poo was a whole different story. It was hit or miss for a few months with poo, but the pee was a complete success. We had no diapers at all during the day, we made scheduled potty trips so he wouldn't go too long and have an accident (he did still need prompting to go) and we put him in a diaper at night and during naps. Because he was on kind of a poop on the potty strike, he saved his poop for his naptime mostly, when he was wearing diapers. How coy.

But a few months later, he started to wake up dry, so we eliminated diapers entirely.

This is around the time the poo issue came back with a vengeance and the poopy potty strike occurred and we had a lot of underpants casualties. Then came out every imaginable tool from every imaginable resource. The charts, the stickers, the potty dances, the bribery rewards, the trip to Chuck E. Cheese (yup! wasn't above bribery here), and mommy may or may not have lost her cool (and I will tell you first hand that did NOT work in our favor so I advise you to refrain from yelling even if it is the 143rd poo patty you've cleaned from the floor because it has rolled out onto the floor and he is laughing and it appears that he is now doing it on purpose.)

The other book that I read cover to cover in one sitting, is the one I turned to in desperation, when we had some setbacks, and it was called, and quite fittingly so, The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Potty Training Problems.

It suggested that I have him take a more proactive role in cleaning himself up, if he is old enough to do so, and guess what? That worked like a charm. Turns out he thought it was hilarious when Mommy cleaned him up, but not so hilarious when he had to do it.

So, in sum, what worked for us? Quitting diapers cold turkey (so as to not confuse the child with going back and forth from diapers to undies although many books will agree that naptime and bedtime for diapers is ok until they start waking up dry, but you can go with your gut.) Our school was also against pullups but I do know that plenty of people have had success with them. And also, be aware, when it seems like your child is old enough and completely knows what he is doing and how to do it and he still poops his pants, remain calm. It can get quite frustrating, and if you have a sensitive toddler like I do, the poop strike will only get worse if you get upset.

Along with helping in the cleanups, I am not ashamed to say that I rewarded him with a little candy for successes, which many people frown upon but I don't care, he works for candy and I'm ok with giving him one tiny candy corn for a poop in the potty. You can judge away on that one, but we're accident-free for a couple weeks now and I can see now that we're done. Finally.

Officially, diaper free around three-and-a-half. It took 10 months total.

So no, he or she won't be walking down the aisle or graduating in a diaper, I promise. We, despite our few setbacks, are proof of that.

So come on moms, what worked for you? What didn't? Whose advice did you take? What books did you use? Please share!

Potty Training

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/potty-training.html

Mantra Monday: My Happy Place

I started writing this post because I was having some more deep thoughts like I occasionally do, mostly resulting from crying on the way home from the spray park on Sunday. Or maybe the crying was the result of the deep thoughts. Either way, there were deep thoughts and a little crying. Not real crying, just some tears and some happy ones really. Because that's what I do.

I'm a big dork in that I constantly contemplate my life. Sometimes I wonder, what if. I wonder if I am doing what I am supposed to and if I am leaving a mark in this world. And I wonder where the heck life is taking me because I mostly feel like I am just along for the ride even though I am the one driving, and then there are the times where I want it to just sort of pause because I love it so much.

This was one of those times.

I don't know why or what made me cry, all I know is that we had just played around in the sprinklings of the spray park, there may or may not have been a mommy-heart-attack because the little one ran off into the woods, then we played some more, dried off and put on dry clothes, and ran to the car as it started to pour, laughing the whole way and making it under cover just in time.

I put the radio on and started to drive. One little boy started to fall asleep, and the other one was sitting there bobbing his head to the music. I looked in the rearview mirror and held my breath for a second, which made me think about that quote, "Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

And this was one of those moments.

The rain was more of a sunshower then, the sun was poking through the gray clouds and the rain slowed to a drizzle and the road glistened. The kind of weather where you're sure there is a rainbow somewhere although I didn't see one.

The song, "I Could Not Ask For More" came on and I just started to cry.

Another one of those moments where all I could think while I was driving was that things at that moment were perfect. The weather with its sunny rainy-ness and my children, all played out and content, on their way to naps. My life, all twisty and turny and curvy, but in short, happy.

Crazy happy.

And perfect.

To me.

I think of life in past and present and how after such a long time of angst and wondering what my place in life is and what role there is for me to fill, I seem to have stopped furiously searching around for what's next. I used to feel sort of lost, like I knew I needed to be here at home with my children, but I always thought I needed to be doing something else too. But I could never figure out what that thing was.

And that feeling of always needing to be doing something but not being able to figure it out was always so unsettling. I felt unfinished.

I thought about how not so long ago, I wrote a post about choices. About how I cried a little because while I was watching my friends climb their amazing career ladders, I had chosen a completely different ladder. I felt lost for a little while after putting my career on hold and while I was sure I had chosen the right path for me, I felt sometimes like my nose was pressed up against the glass, looking at other people's careerlives moving forward, while mine was just kind of, paused. And I wondered what might've been.

Today I re-read that post. And realized I wrote that was almost exactly one year ago.

My how a year can change things.

Back then, I was still nursing. I still had some of the babyweight on. My children were 2 and not yet one. I was over the post-partum depression, but I was still feeling my way around with the whole "having two children in diapers" thing.

I had just joined my preemie moms group but was still very afraid of meeting new people because I wasn't quite back to my sociable self yet. I had run a 5k but that was it so far (no 10k, no half marathon, definitely no triathlon -- that word hadn't even entered my vocabulary or consciousness yet.) And I was still a little lost with who I was and even more, who I was as a mother.

I wasn't appreciating and basking in every moment.

Not like I am now.

I look back now and think that wow. All those miles logged this year were not just for my feet, they were for my head. An entire year of self-reflection and discovery, watching myself fall and get up. Getting over why my body failed me in my first pregnancy, putting on so much weight, post-partum depression, coming out of the fog and my mini-identity crisis and overcoming fears, big and small.

One year to feel completely whole again. Like myself.

Somewhere along the way this year, I completely stopped searching for that other thing, whatever that thing was that I was searching for. I still have no idea what it was and I don't even know what made me stop searching or when it was that I stopped!

I guess I figured out that there is no other thing. This is it. Or maybe I am finally ok with this being it. Because it's plenty! I finally know what "My cup overfloweth" actually means! I have my children and my husband and my family and friends. I do some writing. I do some exercising. I do some cooking, some sewing, some picture-taking, some socializing, some volunteering, some fundraising, some decorating, some helping, some gardening, some cleaning, some organizing, a little of this and a little of that, and that's who I am and that's what I do. That is what my existence is right now.

What I truly hope for each day is that I say the right thing during my day, that I help someone, somewhere, and that I make someone smile. That I am kind and keep my temper. And that I bask in at least one awesome moment a day because there are quite a few of them and I can miss them if I don't pay attention. Every moment, from hearing my three-year-old say, "Mom. Mama. Mommy!!!!!!" to watching him scoot pantless in his fireman outfit toward the potty, to putting an ice cream cone up to my little baby's face and watching him eat it.

Even the jumping from the coffee table to the couch, which makes me die a little on the inside every time.

In one year, I've gone from wanting something more to wanting to wrap my arms around everything that currently is.

I have found my happy place. And I'm just going to sit here and bask in it for a little while.

* * *

Wanna join the Mantra? Every week I look forward and try to keep focused on the good stuff. Want to share your Mantra? Grab a button, and link it up in the comments! Have a wonderful week everyone!

Mantra Monday: My Happy Place

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/mantra-monday-my-happy-place.html

MAD PROPS, YO

I just want to say supercongratulationsexpiolodocious to Pubsgal who finished her very first triathlon EVER today! Go over and give her a high-five! Woot!

MAD PROPS, YO

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/mad-props-yo.html

Hell Has Indeed Frozen Over

See what I got for my birthday? (It was only appropriate that my mom get me my first one and then spend the weekend showing me how to use it. Thanks Mom!!) This is the hell frozen over part.

But I made some blankies for the babies. Me! (With my mom's help of course.)

I know, right?

Who is this person?

Go ahead. Laugh.

But the possibilities are endless! Now I can make blankets and curtains and showercurtains and hem my own pants and a duvet cover and pillow covers and purses and super hero capes and the list in my head goes on and on and on...

Hell Has Indeed Frozen Over

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/hell-has-indeed-frozen-over.html

Head Cases

I'm over here at the Sisterhood today, talking about being a head case and how being a head case helps me stay motivated (mostly). Except for now. Because I have another murky water swim looming over me and I need to keep my head on straight so I can improve my open water skillz.

Can you help me? I need motivational quotes, anything, whatever, something to keep my head out of how nasty the water is. I swear, I'll do anything. If you give me a good one, I'll write it down on paper and strap it to myself somewhere in plastic wrap. Tell me what to do. I'll take pictures on Sunday if there's a good idea handy.

Any help? Bueller?

Head Cases

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/head-cases.html

What Six Pounds Looks Like

After a week of non-scale victories (triathlon, swimming in disgusting water in which I was not consumed by sealife, and dropping a size), I'm happy to report a scale victory!

Last week I just went with the flow because it turns out I gain weight after triathlons. I've done this twice now and now I know that triathlon week is not a good weigh-in week for me. Last week I gained 1.5 pounds, only to lose it the very next day but after weigh-in of course so it didn't count. But (talk about cup half full) it also turns out that I have a very extra special week the week after. Like this week, when I lost that annoying 1.5 pounds, plus another 2! Yipppeeeee!

So I'm down 3.5 since last weigh-in, which is actually 6 so far for the challenge, and it looks like this (get a look at my cans!): And also like this:

My very first official milestone badge! I haven't hit a milestone in MONTHS!

Can I also just say that I am really loving the Weight Watchers system? I have still been able to eat take-out Thai, Dunkin Donuts, possibly some candy corn , and Einsteins bagels.

Among the crazy amount of veggies I've been interjecting in between of course, but still, I have not given anything up.

Which makes me very happy.

So how did you do this week?? Don't forget to visit the Sisterhood to weigh-in (you can join the challenge any time and it's all for a good cause) but especially don't forget to go visit the other sisters! It's all about the support!!!

What Six Pounds Looks Like

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-six-pounds-looks-like.html

Lying 101

I heard music to my ears this morning at the wee hours of 5 a.m.

I heard my three-year-old get out of bed and open his bedroom door and close it. I then heard another door open (the bathroom) and then I heard nothing for about two minutes, and then I heard his bedroom door open again and then close and then I heard him rustling around in his bed again.

Besides the fact that no door that was opening in this scenario was mine, do you know what this means people????

We've turned a corner! There was pottying happening on own initiative, in the dark, and a mommy was not involved in any way shape or form! There I continue to lay, listening to the monitor and then being comforted by the lull of his return to his bed! Now of course, I stayed awake because I couldn't stop thinking about how wonderful and musical and magical this actually is!

And there are countless implications here, too, I mean, this means he is actually not going to walk down the aisle one day in a diaper.

Hurrah!

I've done my job.

I mean we do have the occasional accident still but we really are on our way safely and happily, with, and I won't lie here, a little help from the Tootsie Roll, (yes, that is my secret, I used candy and I don't care, judge away) which many people have wondered out loud if that is a fitting reward for this milestone (and/or coincidental) and not because it is candy. I don't know really why I chose the Tootsie Roll, actually, and yes, I do see how my mind could have subconsciously drawn some parallel and if so, my mind really is kind of weird and warped without telling me. But I have since drawn the conclusion (and you can file this away for your own personal records) that it is not really a spectacular reward only for the time it takes in consuming it, because he sits there and chews and chews and chews for this ridiculous amount of time, and at bedtime this could really get a bit annoying, so I think I'm going to move on to the M&M, something much smaller, and then eventually, nothing, except his own pride.

(The bigger secret here and I'll reveal it to you, where he also began to turn the corner in potty training when, was a couple weeks after an accident in the middle of the night, he said to me point blank, "Clean me." And I responded happily with, "Well actually, honey, you're going to clean yourself today!" And then had him do it all, put the contents of undie in potty, go and get his new undie and then clean up the spill with a towel. It sounds kind of gross, but if he is smart enough to think that mommy is going to do all the cleaning here, he is big enough to start doing it himself. This did not appeal to him. He started going in the potty almost immediately after that. Lesson learned for both of us.)

Well now that this job is done (almost), I have found myself charged with a new task: How to explain to a three-year-old how to not tell lies.

Does this really happen this early? And are they deliberate? I have to read up on this immediately.

Because I have found that our little "reward," (for a candyholic) has become kind of double-edged sword here. He is taking the initiative to potty all by himself. However, I caught him just yesterday telling me he went (and that he flushed!) and afterward making his case for a treat.

The only problem was that I knew he didn't go, and I knew he didn't flush either. I was standing right there (he did not know this.)

Little boogie.

So. I went into my "mom" mode, explaining to him that when we say we did something and we really didn't, that is called a lie. When we say we did something and we really did do that, that's called "the truth." And you need to tell the truth. Because it's not ok to tell lies. And then I started to go into "trust" and the disappointment that comes from not trusting people, but as it was all coming out of my mouth, I was confusing even myself and I'm pretty sure he had already tuned out by the time I even said the word "lie" because his eyes were glazed over (so were mine, who am I kidding) and he was likely already onto the next thing, thinking "CANDYCANDYCANDY IWANT CANDY HOWDOIGETCANDY".

So that was that. I've been testing him a little to find out if he learned anything about the truth, because it is out there, I have retained at least that much from X-Files and I do plan to pass that on to him in some shape or form, I just really don't know how to convey it in a toddler-type language.

The concept of truth isn't really like holding up a card and asking him what color it is. Or is it? Hmm. Any ideas here? Some useful toddler lingo you have used?

Because, I mean, lying is a very slippery slope! Today it's just about whether or not he flushed, but tomorrow, it's about whether or not he took the car out in the middle of the night and robbed a 7/11 for a carton of Marlboro Lights.

Any help saving my son from juvie is appreciated.

Lying 101

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/lying-101.html

Mantra Monday: Brave Talk. And ps. I Didn't Get Eaten By Sharks

I was a little worried about open water swimming on Sunday but I am alive even though the water was, indeed, very murky (gag!) and there was a jellyfish incident.

I know, I know, calling it open water swimming for starters sounds just a little scarier than what it actually is, which is swimming in the ocean, and bajillions of people do that every day. The words open water just sound so ominous, like it's, perhaps, open season for eating swimmers. That's just where my mind goes.

I have issues.

So I met my tri-group for some open water swimming and murky wasn't the word.

I might have chosen, disgusting. Or heeby jeeby. Or oh, hell no!

And I really tried not to be a baby about it, I really did. But having to walk through knee-deep sea grass and sliding along in the slippery disgusting mud and not being able to see what your walking on or through still makes me want to gag. But I did it anyway in the name of bravery. Which will become a recurring theme throughout this venture by the way.

And there were more girls than guys by the way.

I just want to say for disclaimer purposes that this area that we swam in is a very popular recreation area. There are sidewalks/running paths up and down the causeway, there is a kayak rental shop right where we were, people were fishing, pretty much the area was already bustling when I showed up at 7:20.

So back to the wading out in the grass.

We walked out to where we were going to swim which was water about waist-deep, just over the grass really and my hands hit it when I swam. My first thoughts were something along the lines of THISISSODISGUSTINGICAN'TBELIEVEI'MDOINGTHIS.

But one must try and remain calm so one can breathe properly.

Because if they can't breathe because of say, panic, then one cannot swim, and one must keep stopping. Over and over and over again. And the leader of the group might be walking along with this one person for a little while until they get their bearings.

That one might've been me. Might've not. I'm just saying.

If I wasn't so freaking freaked out, I might have enjoyed the large round fish with vivid colors that passed underneath me (every time I tell the story, somehow the fish gets bigger in my head), or the spiny-looking grass that snorklers might find charming. But I was pretty much freaked out and really just trying to get through it until the one bush that marked our 1/4 mile.

Then I swam hard to the end. Then realized that was just halfway.

One girl got out and started to walk back. So I had the option. But then I started getting all stubborn on myself like I do and started fighting with myself in my head. And because I was so disappointed in my ridiculous performance while the other swimmers were just swimming along like LA LA LA! I decided I'd buck up and swim back. My head was screaming no, but there was some other voice yelling at me saying, "It's just GRASS! You're actually afraid of the grass? Because there are no sharks swimming in this grass, that's for sure. So you're actually JUST AFRAID OF GRASS." And I thought, what would I tell my kids? I was afraid of grass? Wouldn't I tell them the same thing, that it's just grass and get over it? Yes I would. Would I want them to know that mommy couldn't be brave and swim over some damn grass? No.

So then I swam. And I hardly stopped. I kept up. And we were almost to the end when the leader of the group screamed.

Because he got stung by a jellyfish.

I will say that if that'd been me, this story would have turned out much differently. I might not be returning to the water. I might be scarred for life.

I am not wishing the jellyfish on anyone. I am just saying, for my first time out in that disgusting water, that would have been the icing on the cake and I would have thrown in the towel. After I used it first. Or maybe I would have had another brave talk with myself.

* * *
On Mantra Monday, I set myself up for the week with motivation. Wanna join me? What's your mantra? Link it up!

Mantra Monday: Brave Talk. And ps. I Didn't Get Eaten By Sharks

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/mantra-monday-brave-talk-and-ps-i-didnt.html

Phobias

I'm over here at the Sisterhood today talking about my phobia of Open Water Swimming. And I capitalize it because it scares me.

I am psyching myself up for a swim in murky ocean water. It's almost midnight and I'm swimming at 7:30.

And yes, someone has actually referred to this water as murky.

It better not rain or all this stress will be for nothing.

Phobias

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/phobias.html

Which Blogs Inspire You?

I am sending this award around today to some of the people who inspire me.

I've been blogging for a while now and even though I often have a lot to write about, I don't always know how to write it. And I regularly find myself drawn to blogs who just do it so freakin well and who inspire me. They make me want to be a better writer, blogger, and even most times, a better person. So I thought I'd take this moment to share a few of them with you because I love to spread the bloggy love around a little and I haven't in a while and I have all this pent up bloggy love inside to get out. So I'd like to share this little award (made up by me) with some of the blogs I find so inspiring. I know it's not like a million bucks and you can't really do anything with it, but it's my token to you to say, Thank you. For making me want to be a better blogger and person. Here's a little bloggy bling for your sidebar.

-Maggie at Maggie's Mind: Maggie is in Japan right now. Literally, she can make a picture of a wall look cool. And she can write a haiku about a wall that would be sheer poetry. She inspires me daily to find the beauty and funny sh*t in odd places.

-Lissa at Whoooo's That Girl: That hooker's another one with the to-die-for photos. Of course, she is a photographer... But I have to say, between her ginormous family and her blogs and her photography, I have no idea how on earth she does it all, but darn girl, you inspire me. I feel like I've been following her for a hundredty years, but her partying and foul mouth writing makes her a woman after my own heart.

-Brooke at Smart + Strong = Sexy: Brooke is just so darned sweet and charming and supportive, she makes me want to keep going. With whatever. She should also get the award for most-commenting-blogger, because whereever I go, she has already left a comment and it's always a sweet and heartfelt one. Talk about sharing the bloggy love! Plus her stories are just so cute. Tell me the engagement story already, gosh!

-Pubsgal at Opposite Life: Blogging isn't just addicting because there is this whole other world online (although that's part of it). There are real (virtual) friendships made here. Pubsgal's about to do her first tri (in 10 days!) and we've been egging each other on the whole time, from the crazy conception of the very idea. Not to mention, she's hilarious with her cookie face pictures and cans on the beach.

-April at Did That Just Happen?: My bloggy twin! I swear, we have so much in common, especially in our weightloss. If past lives existed I swear we would have been friends in one of them. Like the blog version of the women in the Victorian Era or something. Maybe we telegraphed and crossed wires at some point or something. Anyway, I heart April.

So thank you ladies for being so inspiring. I am quite sure I'm not the only one who thinks so. So, sometimes when there are awards abound, people have rules, but I don't. Except one or two. And you can copy and paste it if you wish:

Rule #1: If a blogger has inspired you, tell them. Whether it's one blog or five, show the bloggy love. Send them this little token.

Rule #2: See rule #1.

ps. I'm always looking for new blogs to read. Anyone got any favorites?? Please do share!

That is all.

Which Blogs Inspire You?

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/bookmark-and-share.html

Weigh-in Wednesday: Non-Scale Victories

Well, it's not what I was hoping for this week but I didn't know what I was hoping for anyway, I guess to maintain would have been nice, but whatever. I'm not taking the cans away from my stash, I figure maybe I'll just add food to the pot when I gain too. Any pounds either way, I'll add to the stash. How bout that?

So, bullet points for the Weigh-in Wednesday:

-Up 1.5. Wah.
-Weight Watchers didn't even give me back a point they took away from me last week. Boogies.
-But they didn't yell at me when I weighed in online either. Which is something.
-My legs are still killing me from Sunday.
-Mostly because instead of resting on Monday, I played a double-header in softball on an unusually large field in which I played Left Field and my legs wanted to buckle during the second game. Dummie me. But I did finish out the season with a .444 batting average. Which is about 300 points higher than last season where I had a major hitting slump.
-I'm all signed up for the last tri of the year, Oct. 24th.
-I tried on and fit a size 6 over the weekend which softens the blow of the weight gain. I haven't been a 6 in oh, let's see, 10 years? Pretty much. Victory.

It's all about the non-scale victories this week. Cup half full.

Weigh-in Wednesday: Non-Scale Victories

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/weigh-in-wednesday-non-scale-victories.html

Lose-A-Palooza

Been to the Sisterhood yet today?

Because there is a little thing going on called Lose-A-Palooza, which is this crazy party on the social networks! (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) And for every tweet, fan, blogpost, and/or mention, Weight Watchers is donating money to Action Against Hunger and Share Our Strength! All part of Lose For Good!

The Sisterhood is giving away free tee-shirts and also I'm giving away some free salad dressing over there (and it's to die for, I've tried it). So get on over there and comment away!!

Lose-A-Palooza

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/lose-palooza.html

How Has Motherhood Changed You?

A question for my mothering friends...

I was drying my hair and thinking because there are two places where I do most of my thinking and one of them is while drying my hair.

The other is in the shower. I planned an entire department restructure in the shower once. No joke.

Anyway, I was drying my hair and I was thinking about my bathroom and how it, among other things, needs some serious renovation. Which led me to thinking about my shower curtain and how it is cute, but really just sub-par. As far as shower curtains go. It needs some umph. I know, picky picky. And about shower curtains no less. Which led me to thinking about how excited I am about the new sewing machine I got from my mom for my birthday!!!!!!! (Which is actually Thursday, by the way, and yes, gifts accepted. I'm kidding.) And then it got me to thinking about my husband laughing at me when I was so excited while opening up my new sewing machine (first the front loaders, now a sewing machine) and how he said to me while shaking his head, "My how you've changed."

He says that a lot lately and I always wonder if he thinks that's a good thing but I suppose he'd let me know if it wasn't in some way. Maybe he'd make a face or say something like, "Oh go SEW SOMETHING" if he was like that but he's not. (I don't sew yet either anyway. It's still in the box waiting for this weekend when it will take its maiden voyage.)

Which all led me to thinking about why I've changed and what exactly it was that changed me. And it was one answer, of course.

Motherhood.

Motherhood is why I started cooking, decorating, nesting, and finding other hobbies because I was no longer working. For a paycheck, anyway.

So I started listing off the ways I've changed in my head, all while drying my hair.

Ways that motherhood has changed me:

1. My boys first. Anything else, always, second.
2. Career on hold followed by short identity crisis, followed by coming out the other side, happy and different.
3. Different how? That's the reason for the list after all..
4. I cook and I've actually gotten pretty good at it. The turning point for me when I decided I was actually a pretty good cook was when I could make a decent gravy. Before the gravy, I was scared of making it. It clumped, it was too flour-y, I could never get that "rich" taste. But then I
"got it". Followed by a pretty kickass white sauce. That I don't make anymore because I'm off gravy for a while. At least until Thanksgiving.
5. I enjoy making centerpieces and tablescapes and hosting holidays with placecards and festive recipes and signature cocktails and desserts.
6. I like to do things like napkin-folding and have gotten a book on it for Christmas.
7. I take a millionandahalf more pictures and would love to see if it could turn into something.
8. I used to think that my "meaning in life" was simply my family. Of course it is, but I've realized it's even more than that. I believe that my "meaning in life" is living a full life, appreciating every moment of it, learning and doing everything I can and showing my children how to do the same. That and being nice.
9. I write a lot more now than I did as a "writer". Mostly about things I'm passionate about. A lot of it doesn't show up on here, but I do a lot of it.
10. I am a room mom at my son's preschool. I know. Me? Yeah. Me.
11. I want to start a fitness group called IronMommies, so I can train for endurance races with other mommies like me who are doing it to lose weight and/or stay fit. I am waiting for the right time but I think it's close.
12. I do things like endurance races. I know. Me? Yeah.
13. I now own a sewing machine because I was inspired to fix my shower curtain by a Better Homes and Gardens decorating magazine and I cannot sleep until I fix it up. Seriously.
14. I am actually getting in shape up in here but it's actually been a lifestyle change as opposed to the latest crash/fad diet of my many pounds past.
15. I love home improvement projects even if I groan about them while doing them.
16. My day consists of taking one to preschool, the other to Gymboree, blogging, working out, cooking dinner, rinse and repeat. And I.love.it.
17. Having a preemie made me passionate about helping others who have had one and I'm part of a preemie moms group which is working on projects to help families in the NICU.
18. I am more excited about GymBucks and front loaders than I am about happy hour.
19. I am the only stay at home mom on my Monday night softball team. And the only one who owns a minivan.
20. I care about having a clean house with clean floors, clean laundry, and paying bills on time. These qualities definitely did not make an appearance until motherhood. Just ask my parents about my bedroom growing up.

But of course, most of those are just surface things, right? What the list actually represents to me, though, is that had I not done this motherhood thing and continued on the career path (because one always looks back and analyzes her choices), I might not have ever paid much attention to things like cooking (I'd probably still be making my standard ziti and then ordering out) or decorating (can we say "futon"?) or sewing or photography or triathlon or the March of Dimes and families who have had preemies or good credit or making the bed and being responsible and careful and patient. And they've all become things I have not just learned but have actually become passionate about that honestly I never knew I had in me. Not to mention the fact that just looking at my little boys' faces can move me to tears because they are so special and perfect and mine and the very thought of anything other than perfect happiness for them makes my insides hurt. That alone has been known to change a person.

When my husband says I'm different, different from the partying 20-something-career-woman-go-getter, I agree with him that definitely I am indeed different. I used to wonder for myself if that was a good thing, but now I just know. It is neither good nor bad. It's just different. With a side of domestic. I am still driven, but I'm driven in different ways about different things. I am glad that I retained that property of myself, even through the changes that motherhood brought me. Because I love that part.

So. What do you think? How has motherhood changed you?

How Has Motherhood Changed You?

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-has-motherhood-changed-you.html

Tri 2 Turns Du

As promised, the fullbodyspandexsuit.

Can I just say, even with my fluffy ruffles and ridges (i.e. hips) I loved this thing??!!!! Loved!!! (Zoot Women's Ultra Tri Racesuit fyi.) LOVE LOVE LOVE! There was only one drawback to it and it was the fact that it was a onesy and that made for an interesting porta-potty experience. In the dark. There's only one thing weirder than being nearly naked in a porta-potty and that's being nearly naked in the porta-potty in the near pitch black. (No lights, 5 a.m., you know.) I'm just saying. (You're welcome.)

But I felt like catwoman in it and I felt like I had superpowers. Like the "ability to make it in and out of transition in less than 10 minutes because I don't have to change" superpower. It did swish a little like George Costanza's suit in that one Seinfeld episode, but I didn't care too much about the sound. People heard me coming and I didn't have to say, "On your left!" because the swooshing said it all.

So the weather Saturday was awful and we didn't even think there would be a triathlon on Sunday, but then when we woke up and it was pretty clear, we thought the bike might be canceled because of wet roads, but then when we saw the cones going up we knew the bike was on and we got excited. But it was a very special kind of excited because boy were we both so very snippy this morning.

We were both apparently very nervous and the husband kept barking at talking to me and I was kind of trying to get in a zone and then he would get mad because I wasn't listening and may or may not have turned the music up on him and I would get mad that he was talking and maybe briefly considered taking a cab but I had nervous stomach and was really just so nervous I couldn't think straight. And when I'm that nervous and can't think straight I become unresponsive and stuck in my own head.

Anyhoo.

Then we got there and we were still very frazzled but we set up and I put my I-Pod on for a few minutes to channel in some Michael Phelps, Lance Armstrong, and Jackie Joyner. But the wind kicked up and made for a rough ocean, so they had to cancel the swim on account of a current and the possibility of drowning. I was crushed but the husband, not so much. I was only crushed because I was hoping to see if I could do better this time around and now I would not know this and that bothered me. So instead, we ran on the beach for a 1/2 mile, along the area we would have swam, then ran up the beach at the point where we would have exited the water and we still did the bike and run. So it was technically a duathlon instead of a triathlon.

I finished in 1:28, (that's an hour and 28 minutes) 3 minutes behind my husband. I was 22nd out of 44 people in my group. Not too bad. I thought (and hoped and prayed) that without the swim it would be easier.

Um.

Not so.

Crossing over 4 really tall bridges (one with shattered glass everywhere about halfway up which got a couple poor bikers who were stuck changing flats) was really tough and that made for a really slow 5k afterward for me (36 minutes). I really was hoping for better than that, but if I look at the results overall, it was still pretty ok (and I didn't finish last, which really was the primary goal who are we kidding.)

I am still trying to figure out "race day nutrition" and "pre-race nutrition" thing, because I think that will help me when I'm in the thick of it and need reserves. I fought a pretty bad headache afterward all day. But when times got tough, I did play my normal mindgames, like singing military cadences in my head on the run to the tune of "Last Dance with Mary Jane" or cheering on my fellow competitors as I passed, "Good Morning! On your left! You're doing great!" and being extra cheery and saying things like, "This is easy!" as I went up the hill with a couple of other bikers.

What I wanted to say to my fellow bikers as we were riding in little packs going up these hills was, I could do without this ridiculous wind right now! Or this hill is freakin killing me here! But instead, laughing out loud about how "easy" it was (yeah right!) or how we were so close to conquering this bridge made it just a little easier and more pleasant, even with the fire burning in my legs.

Oh mindgames. What would I do without them, really!

Anyway, I am still hooked. I am excited to have tried this wonderful sport (and if you do any biking or running whatsoever I implore you, no matter what your fitness level or endurance level to consider making it a goal of yours too! I am so serious that if I can do this you can too! Plus, you lose weight AND it's fun!)

So I'm going kick my own butt just one more time and go in for one more round at one last triathlon in '09 at the end of October. I think I just gotta give this swim thing another go!

Tri 2 Turns Du

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/tri-2-turns-du.html

Race Day Eve and Race Eve Meal Ritual

Turns out I have race day rituals now! Who knew that if I'd starting doing a few, I'd start getting a system down.

It doesn't even matter to me anymore that I'm not the race "type." You know the ones, the track stars, the life-long runners, the lean, long legs kind. The ones who fly past me on race day or start at the front because they're actually competing.

It used to bother my competitive self that I was a mid-to-back packer, but I'm one with it now. Just finishing and finishing in a time that's faster than my last finish is what matters to me now. An army of one. Or something like that.

But my guts are all nervous. The harder the race, the more nervous I get. I went back and read my post from my last triathlon, my very first one ever, and I remember just the plain old hard-ness about it. It was so freakin' hard. That makes me a little nervouser. Kind of dreading the hard. But excited about the finish. And the beer. Also a little curious to see if anything is easier. Hope so.

Every step leading up to the race makes me even more nervous. The picking up of the packet with my swimcap and numbers and signing all my forms, and especially looking at all of the other competitors filing in and out of the place. The hardcore ones. The sleepless night beforehand because I always panic the entire night fearing I won't hear the alarm clock and I'll miss the whole race. The nervous stomach. The breakfast I can barely eat but need to. The coffee which most people would think would be a mistake but not me. The fear of forgetting one of my hundredty thousand things like my bike or my race number.

But my husband and I have a ritual now on race eve. It's all kind of cool that we've grown to have this and if we don't do these things now, it just doesn't feel complete.

It usually goes like this: my parents come over the night before because my dad is usually in charge of bringing one of or both of the kids to the race in the morning. We have our ritualistic race-eve meal that includes some sort of pasta and protein. Tonight, I'm making Maggie's Chicken Piccata (7 points total and thank you Maggie, this is a staple up in here now!) and a Weight Watchers version of Penne with Vodka Sauce. The whole meal is kind of a lot of points but whatever. I burned nearly a thousand calories in the last triathlon, so I'm thinking I'm ok. I'm going to need the fuel. And yum.

After dinner, I make sure I have everything all together in my bag and ready to go and I check my list about a hundredty million times and I will still feel like I forgot something important in the morning even if I didn't.

Then, when everything's in order, we sit down and we watch the old 1990-something Ironman Hawaii video my husband has. The one where they documented the competitors overcoming the most amazing obstacles to complete the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, which is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile marathon. Yes, a far cry from my little sprint triathlon (1/3 mile swim, 11 mile bike, 3.1 mile run.)

In the documentary, one woman comes back after getting hit by a Mack truck or something. Then there is one man who takes his wheelchair-bound son with him the entire way. He swims pulling his son in a little boat. He bikes pulling his son on his bike. He runs pushing his son in the wheelchair. The entire distance. I cry every time.

Amazing.

So amazing what one can do with their mind and their body.

Their struggles in life and in training for a race much longer than mine fuels me. It reminds me that any one of us can do anything. Literally. If we will it to be so.

After the video, we head to bed early, wake up a 4 a.m., drink coffee, eat our pre-race meals which for me is a bagel with peanut butter and coffee and water and then a protein bar when I get to the set up area at the beach at 5.

And where I will also proceed to set up and make about a hundred trips to the porta-potty in my fullbodyspandexsuit, which I'm really looking forward to. Yes, really excited about stripping down in the porta-potty. Yikes. Last time I wore my bathing suit, spandex shorts and a bike jersey. This suit functions as all three and I won't have to change in between events and I pretty much feel like a superhero in it. Or catwoman. Because it's black.

So I'm nervous. I'll spend the rest of the night being nervous and I won't be able to sleep. But I'm excited. Here we go, round number two. I just hope it doesn't rain, I don't get a flat, and I don't finish last.

Race Day Eve and Race Eve Meal Ritual

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/race-day-eve-and-race-eve-meal-ritual.html

Remembering

I spend every September 11th praying that no one has forgotten that day.

It's been 8 years now. 8. That's a long time. Every year, 2001 gets further and further away and I worry that people will forget. It just doesn't seem like it has been that long and it makes my insides hurt. My heart is heavy today.

Here are the things I remember about that day.

-Being stuck in the subway underneath Manhattan on the way to work because all the subways were stopped. Because I worked in news, I knew there was breaking news, but I didn't know how big or what it was. I just knew I was late for work.
-Stepping into the newsroom to watch the second tower fall and realizing the scope of what was happening just blocks away from where I was.
-Calling my mother immediately just to tell her I was ok. All this was happening while I was on the subway and I had no idea.
-Spending the next week or so stranded on Manhattan because the bridges were closed. That's ok because we were working 20 hours a day anyway.
-Being terrified of more attacks.
-Working around the clock on autopilot.
-The smell of the white smoke that hovered over lower Manhattan for months.
-Borrowing clothes from one of my dearest friends who I with because I couldn't go home. Yes, even underwear.
-Crying. A lot. For a long, long time afterward.
-Praying. A lot.
-Buying three suits for my dad from a struggling business in lower Manhattan across the street from where the towers stood.
-Papers. Millions of papers scattered all over the streets and in a church yard behind the towers.
-Memorials of flowers, "Missing" posters, and candlelight vigils.
-The camraderie of New Yorkers forever after and the collective suspicion.
-Sadness. Sadness fell on New York for a very long time. It was in everyone's face. Joking and smiling just all felt very wrong.
-The patriotism. We were all American and proud.

Do me a favor. Stop for just one second today and say a prayer for the families of all the victims and the rescuers lost that day and the thousands who still suffer with these memories daily. If you're not the praying type, just a thought or two will do. What do you remember? Where were you?

Please don't forget this day. Never ever forget this day.

I know I won't.

Remembering

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/remembering.html

Self-Folding Laundry

How do you get your laundry to fold itself?

First, you get a couple of gorgeous ruby red front loaders that sing songs when you turn them on "The hills are aliiiiiiiive......"

And when you turn them off you get a beautiful chime rather than a loud, angry BUZZZZ! that wakes up the whole house during naptime.

Then you spend what feels like a gajillion years doing things like painting and spackling and sanding to make a nice home for them. But because you've been skeeved out by this room since you moved in and because of it, you don't want to spend more than 30 seconds in there doing anything much less a chore you already hate (like folding laundry), you're more than willing to do it anything it takes to fix it. Plus, the ruby red twins don't deserve to be in a room anything less than regal.

Then you get a really really cool table that hangs on the wall that you can fold up, from IKEA the megasuperstore of my dreams. $30 by the way.

It's supposed to be a table for two for a studio apartment or something. But it's not. It's a laundry folding table. Because it does this:

Oooooooh! Ahhhhhh!

So here it is. What I've (and by I, I mean me, my husband and dad) been slaving away on for the past 5 days, the official before and after:

What do you think???

Laundry yesterday was a dream. Can't wait to do it again.

See that yellow closet up there? That was the scariest part of all. It used to house a water heater. Before that, the dryer used to pump its air through there too. So there was a big hole in the wall covered up by a bunch of plywood and the walls were all unpainted and gross. So my dad and husband took everything out, made a little passageway to pump the dryer through to the garage, built a little shelf so the catbox could go under it, and all my utility stuff (vaccuum, broom, mop, etc.) could go above it. Weee! Cost? Labor plus wood plus the silver ducts that look like robot arms.

I was lying when I said you needed the front loaders for the laundry makeover, by the way. I wish I had done this sooner. All we did was spackle, put on a coat of paint, put up some shelves, that table and a couple of rugs and a curtain with tiny rod instead of that big ugly door. I would say less than $200!!!! Even with my not-so-pretty, purely functional normal white washer and dryer, I should have done this eons ago!

And now, my laundry all but folds itself! Off to do some laundry now...

Self-Folding Laundry

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/self-folding-laundry.html

Weigh-In Wednesday

Well it's that time again for our lovely weigh-in over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans !!

How did you do?? Did you meet your goals this week??

I did! (*happy dance*)

Down two pounds!!! Another two! That's four for the first two weeks of the challenge so far, and I now officially weigh less than on my wedding day.

Holy crap.

That is all.

It feels so good to breaking through this back and forth I've been in for months. Weight Watchers is totally working for me, it's like a miracle. Man. I feel beyond wonderful, I'm headed toward my goal weight, I'm doing my second triathlon on Sunday (and I actually have all nervous knots about it) and my birthday is next week (my first photography class is also on my birthday). HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! (Next week, anyway.)

33 has been good to me.

ps. Don't forget to head on over to the Sisterhood to weigh-in and don't forget to spread around the bloggy love too, all these wonderful sisters need support, encouragement and high fives!

Weigh-In Wednesday

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/weigh-in-wednesday.html

Pimp My Laundry Room

It started out as one day of Pimp My Laundry Room because of these little babies. Then it turned into two days of Pimp My Laundry Room. Then three days. Then four, which turned into Pimp My Office and Pantry, followed by Pimp My Bedroom. (Still need to Pimp My Bathrooms, Kitchen and Garage, but money ain't growin on trees up in here.)

But when you get on a streak like this, you just go with it, so that's where I've been.

Problem is, I feel like I'm always pimping my house and I'm never done. Suppose I'll always feel that way. Once one room is done you get around to all the others, and then by the time you're done, the first room looks like a hurricane hit it and/or you're no longer happy with it because whatever organizational system you've come up with miserably failed so the process starts over again. Or whatever band-aid you've put on something that really needs an expensive makeover but because of the "expensive" part, you do the best you can with what you have and after a little bit of time, that has failed and you have to put another band-aid on it. Whatever. It's all the same with home improvement. Not to mention all the "stuff", which is really like playing "musical rooms" or "room roulette." Where will the stuff end up today??? Hmmm.

I'll have the before and after pictures soon, you're not even going to believe how scary looking my laundry room once was. Oh, it was Skeevy. Blech. Now it's beautiful and the laundry practically does itself!

Well not quite.

Pimp My Laundry Room

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/pimp-my-laundry-room.html

Mantra Monday: Confidence

Good morning! I know, right? I missed last week's Mantra Monday because we were so busy around here, what with potty training, the first week of the new challenge at the Sisterhood, first week of school... worky worky busy bee!! But we're back at it and hopefully not to miss another!

Oh and happy Labor Day!

Triathlon #2 is in 6 days. Less than a week. Has it been 8 weeks already??

Yes. It is time.

And between the workouts and having joined Weight Watchers, I'm starting to actually tone up now! I'm feeling so good and strong and my husband tells me things like, "You look like a badass!" or something cool like that. And he says I've changed a lot and I've lost some weight and it shows but you know what?

I need a confidence makeover.

Seriously. I need a show called "Confidence 9-1-1" or something. Because I feel great. I am seeing smaller sizes in my clothes. But I don't actually see a difference in the mirror. What's the deal? And I think back and think, it has always been like that, too. Large or small, I see the same person. And it's not even that I think I look big in the mirror necessarily, I just see one person, not a fat person, not a skinny person. It's not until I see a picture where I can see a change either way. Why is that?

So I've decided that it doesn't so much matter what I see in the mirror, or even what I see in pictures. What matters is that I'm feeling strong and able and happy. And the negative self-talk really has got to stop.

The questioning. The inability to accept compliments. Making my accomplishments out to be smaller than they are.

I should be proud. We should all be proud. With who we are, where we've come from, what we're doing, where we've been, all of it.

Because we all are, at our very core, proud, passionate women. Who stand tall in making decisions for our families and ourselves. Who constantly take chances and make choices in our every day, make things happen and influence other people. From our jobs to our homes to our children to our marriages to our friends and whether we know it or see it or believe it or not. Each one of us is guided in our principle, our instincts, our gut. It is a basic, innate strength we women possess. That alone should allow us to embrace our confidence.

Right?

I believe that. And it makes my confidence issue seem just a little smaller suddenly. Because in putting all my confidence in my appearance, I'm belittling everything else that I am. And for what? More importantly, for who?

When I put it that way, none of us should have a confidence issue. Because look at who we are as women, as leaders, as sisters, mothers, wives, and friends.

So I leave you with this:
"It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not." ~Author Unknown

I spend a lot of time telling myself who I am not, and instead, I'm going to start focusing on who I am.

May you go forth this week, confidently, in the direction of your dreams.

Mantra Monday: Confidence

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/mantra-monday-confidence.html

Helloooo, Lover.

Aren't they a beauty? Don't they just sparkle? Don't they just say, "Come! Do laundry! And when you do, I'll make you feel alllll better!" ???

Happy Labor Day everyone! I'm spending the day pimping my laundry room. Happily, I might add!

Helloooo, Lover.

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/helloooo-lover.html

Chuck E. Cheese

Well, I think I may have found the answer.

We've had two. Count them. TWO.

And yes, between some potty success and a new washer and dryer, life for me is good. This is indeed what excites me in my life and I am one with it.

Anyhoo. I am almost super-excited to tell you what finally worked and I promise I will if we have another day of success. (Who knew!! And no, it wasn't even the bribery of Mr. Cheese!)

But as promised, he earned two coins and a trip to Chuck E. Cheese and the rest is a story best told by pictures.

A fireman in his glory.

The fireman telling the mechanical mouse ALLLLL about it. Yes. He thinks he's real. Who am I to shatter his little fireman dreams?

Chuck E. Cheese

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/chuck-e-cheese.html

More on Poo

Because I know you're dying on the inside for updates on the latest hostage crisis.

It is free! A poo has been freed!

After lunch. His decision. Said he'd be right back. Went in. Closed door. Came out all dressed. Said he pooped.

Poop was confirmed. Now safe and sound in pipes.

Headed out to Chuck E. Cheese after naps.

Not caring at this point it's too much of a reward. It's reward for me to have one less poo to clean.

Victory is near.

That is all. Carry on.

More on Poo

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-on-poo.html

My Home is a Black Hole

Things are disappearing around here and I have no idea from whence they've gone.


Sadly, they are all items I have recently spotted and thought I really should move that. And then didn't. And now I can't find them at all. Why do I do that?


So I started this list as a diversion from my searching. I got sick of searching and then got sick of the fact that I'm always searching and then started the list. But then I started to find things so there are updates on some. Because I know you care about where I found them of course.

List as follows:

-MY IPOD!!!!! DoyouhaveanyideawhatIamlikewithoutmyIPod!?!? It is gone. It was in my armband and now they are both gone. I wore it on a run the other day, took it off to shower and now I can't find it anywhere. I need it. I need it I need it. That is all.

*Update* recovered. Only took two entire days of searching through toy bins, drawers, under couches, beds, toilets, changing tables, etc etc. Found in a heap of other sports stuff that husband grabbed off the counter and put in garage. Whew. Tragedy averted.

-Husband's phone charger. Can I just tell you that phone chargers are like socks around here? I can't say for sure exactly how many I've purchased only to have them turn up later when I have eventually moved on and gotten a new phone and now I'm left with a hundred chargers, car and regular, for phones I no longer have. And the ones for the phones we currently have are now missing. Is this a joke?

*Update* recovered. Only took 3 entire days of searching through desk, bedside tables, the black hole/slash/ether of a kitchen countertop and junk drawer. Found in a bin where wife (me) got sick of looking at pile on kitchen countertop and shoved it all in said bin for going through at a later date. Which has not yet arrived.

-Hair ties. I just bought a new pack of like a kajillion because the kajillion for the pack I just bought are all missing. I don't understand. I will buy another pack of a hundred in two weeks because these will be gone.

-My lipsticks. I use Cover Girl, ya know, the one that doesn't kiss off? Found it for my wedding (in the great search for the best lipstick of '05 and indeed, this IS the best one.) Wine to Five is my color. If I have the color part, I can't find the gloss part. If I find the gloss part, I can't find the color part. Very often I can't find either. I thought I found the answer by buying 5 pairs to keep in all the places I might need them (purse, diaper bag, wallet, gym bag) and now none of them are there. None. So I bought one yesterday, hoping I can remember where I put just that one.

-Yes, of course, socks. And not just mine. I actually found a giant gathering of them in my softball bag. I forget that I take my socks and cleats off before I drive home and then do the same thing after the next game, then the next. I had exactly two seasons worth of Monday night game socks in my bag last week before my husband intervened. (Yes, I'm a catch.) Anyhoo, my sons' socks. How many packs have I bought in the past month? Three. Three packs of 10. I have exactly one pack left. Something's going on here. I'll blame the washer and dryer. And ps. the new ones are coming this weekend. I can't wait to post about it. WOOT WOOT WOOT!

-The Wii Remote. We have two but have only been able to locate one. This is exactly one of the items for which I remember seeing in an odd place and thinking, I should put this where it belongs or it could be lost! Yes, I actually took the time out of my busy day to think that, but yet, still did not actually take the time to move it. My husband used it as an excuse, by the way, to not try the EA Sports Action thing for the Wii that I'm doing for the Sisterhood. He was all ready to, but conveniently couldn't find the remote, gave up and logged onto the internet.

I think I need to reorganize or something. I am quite sure the new washer and dryer will help me with all of this.

My Home is a Black Hole

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-home-is-black-hole.html

Weigh-in Wednesday Week 1

It's the very first weigh-in at the new challenge, Shrink for Good over at the Sisterhood! I don't even know where to start! I'll start here:

That's what two pounds of non-perishables look like. And if you're wondering why I took that picture, it means you haven't joined the challenge so go on over and join, there's still time! I'll wait.

OK, so I lost two pounds this week! Two! And now, two pounds of food into my food-pantry-bank for the food bank (everything I lose, I match in nonperishables and donate to a food bank in October, that's the Shrink for Good/Lose for Good way!) Also I joined Weight Watchers hoping it would give me that little boost I needed to drop this last 10 here and looky loo! Two are gone! Fluke? We'll see next week! A little more on the weigh-in stuff plus some giveaway info over at the Sisterhood today! Happy Wednesday!

Weigh-in Wednesday Week 1

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2009/09/weigh-in-wednesday-week-1.html