Hopefully back on track

Sigh, William has been home the past two days, so no gym yet this week. I almost made it all of January, three times a week. He should be back in school tomorrow, I hope, so I'll go tomorrow, but somehow going Wed, Thu, Fri doesn't seem like the best idea. We'll see how it goes.

And I'm obviously not doing so great on going to bed earlier because it's already 11:15. But the kitchen is cleaned up!

Getting well...

I think it sounds like lots of people have had crud lately that is hard to shake. I actually don't feel that bad but I am coughing at times (like when I go to bed). I keep hoping that I am actually getting better. Jim has threatened to drag me to the doctor (which I have already gone once) if I am not well by Thursday. I think the hardest part is listening to Jo cough (which she only really does at night). Andy seems mostly well and Doug seems fine (just a little bit of lacy red rash left on his butt after having fifths disease). I think I need to work on the more sleep bit and I have had an issue remembering to take my vitamin the last couple of days.
On the more positive note the house is really starting to feel like home even though we still have tons of unpacking and organizing to do. I also feel like I have been doing pretty well with food lately. I haven't been over eating (much) and I have been making decent choices on what to eat (not always the best but it certainly could be worse). I have been doing a moderately well job at remembering to carry my water bottle with me and we haven't been eating out much at all (like maybe even only once a week). I continue to walk on campus rather than take the bus and for the most part it is working to have the kid's toys separate from the TV so that we don't just leave the TV running with no one really watching it.

They grow up so fast!

I know this is off topic, but I also know that almost all of you are moms and will sympathize.
The day before we left on vacation, Sierra climbed out of her crib. ("How did you get out of your crib?" "I don't know." "Owen, how did Sierra get out of her crib?" "I teached her!") She then proceeded to climb in and out of it for the next few days and managed to hurt her back doing it. Ok, Sierra, no more crib for you -- it's dangerous! So we bought her a big girl mattress and put it on the floor. Today is her first night in the big mattress. She looks so little in there.... I spent the afternoon rearranging the furniture in the room so I could fit the mattress in. Steve said he thought that I would just take the crib apart and I know I should have.... Just thinking about it made me cry. My baby is not a baby any more. sniff, sniff,... Is it wrong to want to leave the crib in her room?

cough cough

So far, I'm still trying to recuperate from a never ending bout of bronchitis. At least I'm calling it bronchitis. It started with a nasty taste in the back of my throat and progressed to a never ending cough which eventually was diagnosed as bronchitis, and almost 3 weeks later, I'm still sick. I actually think this is my third viral something or another that has run together, so I've been sick for much of this new year.

I'm going to lay the blame on Christopher. Toddlers aren't good at sharing toys, but they're very good at sharing germs. Between sharing food that has been in their mouths and the perpetual runny nose along with the refusal to wash hands, especially when soap is involved, loving a toddler is sharing their illnesses. At least we all got our flu shots early this year.

Meanwhile, Michael has started a year long leave, and I start working full-time at the beginning of February. I realized this morning that I haven't worked full-time since I had Timothy (which was 7 years ago). I don't expect it to be a huge change since it's the same job, just more hours. Still, it's a bit of a shock to be the primary breadwinner in the family again, since last time it was just the two of us and no mortgage.

When it rains, it pours. I also have a mess of dental work to deal with now. I managed to lose a crown. I had a baby tooth extracted about 5 years ago and had an implant and crown installed. The crown keeps popping off. It did again earlier this week, and I wrapped it in a tissue and stuck it in my pocket since I had to go pick up Timothy and take him to Chinese class. After I get there, I find a icky used tissue in my pocket and throw it away since I've got nasty used tissues everywhere because it's cold and flu season. A few hours later, when I'm picking Timothy up, I realize that the nasty tissue I threw away contained my crown. After pawing through several bags of garbage and not finding my crown, I give up. YUCK!

The good news is, my dentist thinks we should do something about the implant post because the crown is obviously not staying attached. So, even if I did have the crown, we probably would have looked into replacing it eventually since this is the 3rd time it's come off in 5 years. It's supposed to stay permanently attached. So, I have a missing tooth in addition to the sore throat and cough.

Can I use that as an excuse for not getting around to Christmas cards or thank you notes?

Goals

Well, it's the fourth week of January, and I am reaching my goal of going to Curves three times a week (not counting the first week, it was short so I went twice). I went today, but will go again tomorrow as Saturday is probably crowded. This is working ok for me - better when I can go right after I drop off William, but I'm making it work on days that I can't do that. And it's fun, and I definitly work hard enough to have my heart rate in the proper zone, and I work up a sweat.

It is probably time to work on the next issue. I think i will probably choose sleep, even over eating habits. I clearly snack more when I am tired, so working on sleep will help both. But of course it's 10:30 already, so now I'm late for bed.

Ahhhh... vacation!

I got to go to Cancun, Mexico with Steve on his "company offsite" for the long weekend. There was like a minute on the trip where I thought, "remember what it was like not having kids?" THAT was relaxation! Despite the rain for the last half and the seasickness on the group catamaran trip, I really did have a good time. On Sunday I hit a tennis ball back and forth with Steve (I wouldn't call it "playing tennis" but it was a workout) and we went for a very short paddle in kayaks (we didn't dare venture far from the launch point because of the high winds) and I tried to jog a little between destinations at the resort. It was actually exercise, it was fun, and I felt good. Now I need to keep up the exercise and remember that it is fun. So far, I'm using Steve away again on business as an excuse to be too tired, but I know that I'm being bad. I'm really going to sign up to do a Danskin mini-Triathlon and a backpacking trip this year. Really. (Do I sound convinced?) I think I need a partner in crime to help keep me on track....

Friday

I was able to go to Curves today, so it was perfect. But then I ate too much - uncomfortably full, even. Gotta work on that. But I'm also working on getting more sleep and I'm sure the two things are related.

Off to bed. Go to bed, everyone!

Slow steps

I am getting the stuffing my face thing sort of under control. I'm thinking it's related to something mid-cycle for me, a form of PMS, because it often corresponds to being very moody, even depressed, and no energy. I should probably track it with respect to my period. Not that it would necessarily help, but it might explain.

And I went to Curves again today, and am trying to decide if I go tomorrow, because I can't go Friday, or if I go Saturday. I'm thinking Saturday is better than three days in a row - but will I pry myself out of the house and actually go? Tomorrow would be "easier", but then I'd probably have 3-4 days off (kids are out of school on Monday for MLK day). Hmm...

Helping Each Other

Jim has decided that we consume way to much sugar (which is probably true) and that he is going to cut us back on the amounts of sugar (sweets and carbohydrates) that we eat. I am trying to decide if I am happy that he is putting less sugar in my coffee. I can't complain much because he does fix it for me and leave it on the counter for me. I guess I will have to make a real decision after I have had a chance to get used to the "new" taste for about a week.

I am still waiting to find my scale but I will say that happily when I went to the health center to deal with my cold last week that I was down almost ten pounds from my "official" starting weight from my pregnancy with Jo.

Cool Site

In my effort to avoid actual work, I came across a cool website/blog. It's all about living simply and Zen. I liked this article from today.
http://zenhabits.net/2008/01/the-minimalists-guide-to-fighting-and-beating-clutter-entropy/#more-601

Don't know if I can get rid of two things for each one that comes in, but it's good to be mindful about why you're shopping.

Quality Ingredients

I walked across campus to buy my textbooks yesterday and bought lunch in the student center while I was there. I actually was good and got the combo with the side salad. I never managed to figure out where the salad dressing was but I was surprised because the salad tasted really good to me even without salad dressing. The lettuce was very crisp and it reminded me of how food can taste better when you are using good ingredients that are fresh. I just need to figure out how to duplicate that at home because you don't get that taste from a bagged salad and I don't think I go through enough lettuce to keep up with a head of lettuce. I do feel good about my lunch choice because it was healthier than what I had originally planned to get (which of course included fries in the original plan).

Gym again

Ok, this Curves thing might work for me. I went again today - after going to the dr, and getting breakfast (I had to fast for the dr) and going to Target. Went to the gym on my way home, did my 30 minutes which seems to actually be about 45, and went home. It was good!

Back on Track

Ok, I'm falling off the wagon a little bit. I have been loosing weight, mostly because of the medication, most likely, but the last couple days I'm back up a couple of pounds. I've been snacking a LOT - partly PMS, partly tired, and I'm hoping not anything else. I'm rationalizing that it's also because I went to Curves twice, so therefore burned more calories those days and since my body isn't used to that anymore, I was hungrier than usual too.

Here's hoping that with my period over I can get myself under control a little better. I'm not trying to be rigid, just thoughtful about what and why I'm eating. But tomorrow will be tough - I have to fast for bloodwork at the dr's office and my appointment isn't until 9:45. I can do that, but not stopping at the nearby Dunkin Donuts afterwards? That's going to be hard.

I went to the gym! Woo Hoo!

Yes, I really did. Friend of mine (bless her heart)didn't say, "do you want to go to Curves with me?", but rather "WHEN are you going to Curves with me?"

So I had my introductory workout, and have a one-month trial membership, and ran into at least three other people I know. All good.

Of course, I had a major binge-fest at lunch and after school snacking with the kids. I think it's directly tied to being really tired today - had to get back on school schedule, and we went to bed pretty late last night. Should be better tomorrow.

But I went, it was fun, and it definitely got my heartrate up.

Positive Spin

We are at my in-laws for a couple more days. Then we have to go home and actually unpack all of our stuff. I am looking forward to it because it will be nice to have our things once more. I am dreading it because I have to actually finish cleaning up anything else I want to clean up (like wiping off shelves, etc.) so that we can find places to put all of our stuff. I have decided that I need to keep putting a positive spin on things in 2008. So for instance I am telling myself, that while I didn't get to decorate a house for Christmas (which I didn't miss that much because Dec. was so hectic anyway) that at least I don't have Christmas decorations to pack up. I didn't have time to bake any goodies but that also means I don't have stuff sitting around for me to be eating all the time.