(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: AJ's First Cold

It's amazing that we made it almost two years without an honest to goodness runny nose, coughing, sneezy cold. He's been the kind of sick that landed him in the hospital (more than once) but our no cold streak ended yesterday after nap, exactly a week after his first YMCA class. Coincidence? I think not. Toddlers may not share toys but they certainly share germs!

Here's hoping these drug store supplies make tonight a little more comfortable for him.

Tales from the Scale: Week 5

Down .6lbs. I'm not sure that even counts because just over half a pound feels like it could be the difference in what pants I was wearing from one weigh in to the next.

But that point six brings my total to a nice even 13lbs, so I'll take it.

Nothing exciting to report this week. I made it through Easter and for once I was thankful for AJ's food allergies in that it meant we really didn't have much in the way of Easter candy at Chez Homburg. I will admit to being mighty tempted though when we were at Walmart yesterday. Reeses peanut butter eggs on clearance? Sign me up. Or not.

Oh, and I had a minor victory over Oreos. You see I decided to surprised a certain Miss Em with some oreo cheesecake new mama cupcakes last week since Barb was headed down that way. And I bought the whole bag...even though I said I was going to go single serve next time. The cheapskate in me won out. The recipe calls for like 2 dozen oreos. That's a lot of single serve bags! BUT (!!!) I counted out the cookies I needed (plus one to eat myself, because I'm not really a saint) and then I drove the rest of the bag to Karl at work. Take THAT Oreo temptation!

This week's challenge will be the first wedding of the season on Saturday. Wedding days are crazy busy for us and I rarely get to eat much more than a handful of pretzels or trail mix between 9am and whenever we make it to the reception. By that point I am famished and tired from being on my feet all day. I have no say in what I am served (betting on family style fried chicken and beef tips as they seem to be Wisconsin wedding staples) and I have about 10 minutes to shovel the aforementioned food into my mouth before they start with toasts and kisses and other assorted reception activities. Oh, and there's cake. Mama likes wedding cake.

So, we'll see how it goes. I'm hoping all the shooting and gear hauling earns me a few activity points to indulge in cake. And I'm hoping to resist Karl's suggestion of "fourth meal" on the way home.

Can I make it to 15lbs next week? Only time will tell!

Bits of Our Weekend: Volume 1

Completely stealing this brilliant idea from Em. I've been meaning to do this for a while, but I tend to forget the camera on the weekends. And sometimes you really don't want to see what we do on the weekends (laundry and floor scrubbing anyone?) So we'll see if I can keep this up.


Saturday started with a Fedex package from Grandpa Mark filled with Easter goodies for a certain little dude. We saved most of it to open on Sunday, but AJ spotted this jacket and wanted to wear it right away. Goes great with jammies, right?

While AJ was napping, Karl and I prepped the kitchen table for dying easter eggs. I found the idea to use kool aid on this blog last week and decided to give it a try. I spent a grand total of 60 cents on the packets and they mix with cold water instead of vinegar so it was super easy.





So what did we learn about this little experiment? Some colors work better than others (Berry Blue and Lemon Lime were awesome. Black Cherry not so much) Koolaid totally stains skin and takes a while to wash off. AJ didn't grasp the "gentle" concept so most eggs were dropped into the cups from a distance resulting in a big splash. He also wasn't so big on letting the eggs dry and enjoyed knocking them together and creating cracks. Finally, we found that the poor little dude didn't understand *why* we weren't going to let him eat those eggs. After all he was sitting at the table in his booster seat...that should amount to at least a little snack right? Poor AJ had a big old meltdown.


Before us big people went to bed we set out to hide a dozen or so eggs for the little dude to "hunt" for in the morning. Not knowing if he would be even remotely interested or grasp the concept, we opted to "hide" some in plain sight.

AJ was up bright and early Sunday morning and shocked us all with his egg hunting skills. He totally got the idea and was collecting eggs before I even grabbed the camera. Since his basket was full of goodies (we thought we would do baskets, then hunt but AJ had different plans) the little dude decided to pile his eggs in the middle of the floor.



After a quick breakfast we did baths and showers and got dressed for church. We visited a friend's church this weekend in part because they had a nursery. This will be important to remember later. Before we left, we took some quick pictures.
And this would be where the pictures end and our weekend takes a sour turn. We got to church with just a few minutes to spare so I went downstairs and quickly dropped AJ off in the 0-2 nursery. He took off to play and never looked back at me. Score! About ten minutes before the service was over, a nursery worker came up to find me. I assumed AJ was having a meltdown as we were very close to his naptime. I went downstairs and the following conversation ensued:

Me: Is he okay?
Nursery Lady: He is breaking out into hives.
Me: What did he touch? Did he put something in his mouth?
Nursery Lady: Well, we gave him some pretzels. And some cheese crackers.
Me: Well that's a problem. He's allergic to milk and peanuts.
Nursery Lady: Oh we would never serve peanuts but I had no idea kids could be allergic to milk.

Thankfully, this mama always carries benadryl in the diaper bag (along with an in case of emergency card with AJ's allergies, benadryl dosage, our contact info and the name and number for his doctor). I found out when he'd had the crackers, when the hives started and made a mental note of when I was giving him the benadryl, then went upstairs to meet Karl and explain that we needed to leave. Everyone was *so* apologetic and offered to call 911 which thankfully wasn't necessary. I kicked myself the whole way home that I hadn't mentioned his allergy at drop off. I am normally vigilant about informing people about his allergies but I was in a rush to get back upstairs and I had no idea they would serve the kids a snack. Lesson learned.

Because of the benadryl AJ slept most of the afternoon, waking only to throw up all over his crib....twice. I didn't take any pictures of that. You can thank me later.

Five on Friday; Thoughts During Naptime

1. I treasure naptime. And I always hope it will be a nice long nap that allows me to get everything done before AJ wakes. But it never fails, on the long nap days I find myself worrying. Is he really sleeping in there? Did something terrible happen? Maybe he tried to escape the crib and hit his head, or...or... Should I go check on him?? And it always happens when I have those feelings that one of two things happens. Either AJ makes some sort of noise in his sleep that lets me know he's fine, or I go in and check and wind up waking him up in the process. (In case you were wondering, AJ just rolled over and made a kind of whine/cry. So he's alive. And still sleeping. And approaching TWO hours! I will not go check on him. I will not!)
2. A class with the name Teddy Tumbles should really include tumbling. Really. Especially since a certain mama has been telling a certain little dude all about the fun gymnastics class he was going to take on Friday. Then, Friday came and all he got was an oversized conference room with some mats on the floor and a bunch of kid toys. Thanks, YMCA. I could have set the toys out in our living room with a padded floor and saved myself that 42 dollar class fee.
   
3. It amazes me how a bunch of toddlers can be in the same room with each other, playing with the same toys, and seemingly not even notice the smallish people around them. They occasionally trip on each other or nudge someone out of the way, but the idea of actually playing with each other seems totally unnecessary. And if this really is normal toddler behavior to not really care about the other smallish people, then why does the little dude get so darn excited to see a fellow cart riding toddler at Walmart? I mean, I take him to a class that boasts about the chance for *socialization* and he could not care less. But when we run to pick up bananas he must flail his arms and squeal BEEEE (his attempt I believe at baby) over and over. Yet another toddler mystery I may never understand.
4. I can be sneaky. And I enjoy it. And I appreciate getting others involved in my sneakiness for the greater good. That's all I'm going to say about that for now.
5. And on that note, the little dude is awake. 10 minutes shy of 2 hours. I can't complain.
   

(Sort of) Wordless Wednesday: He needs a hair cut

Secrets about this picture:

1. the messy long hair covers an enormous bruise on his forehead from a run in with the entertainment center yesterday
2. The scratch on his cheek is in the perfect shape of my thumbnail and is a result of a very squirmy boy who didn't want mama to put his pajamas on.

Tales from the Scale: Week 4

Down 1.2 for a total of 12.4.

This week I met and surpassed my 5% goal. Yes, I realize that based upon that information you could do a little math and figure out what I weigh. I'm caught between not caring and hoping that my friends are as bad at math as I am. :)

Lesson learned this week: don't bring Oreos in the house. EVER. The story goes that I bought a package of oreos in order to make mini oreo cheesecakes to take to some of my new mama friends. Now, I know Oreos are a red light food for me, as in I'm likely to eat the whole bag in a day if given the chance. So, I never buy them for myself. I don't have the willpower. But the recipe looked yummy and I needed a dessert that would be easy to split up for the two families I was bringing dinner for. So I bought the oreos and promised myself I would send the leftovers with Karl to work. But, he forgot to take them and the next day happened to be one of those days where AJ was bound and determined to drive me to drink.

I didn't drink....instead I ate the oreos. Every last one.

I have a plan for future oreo baking endeavors. I'm going to buy enough single serve packages to cover the recipe. It will definitely be more expensive, but I really don't need to go down the oreo binge road again anytime soon.

Do you have a food you know shouldn't be in the house?

About a boy

In two months he will be two. Correction, in LESS than two months he will be two. That child up there is no longer a baby, no matter how many times I call him one. He is a boy. He is the fearless daredevil sort of boy who takes great joy in giving his mother gray hairs and mini heart attacks. He is the boy who fights for independence at every turn but comes running to his mama for comfort when that independence results in a skinned knee or bumped head.

He is the boy with no words but an uncanny ability to express exactly what he's thinking, particularly when what he is thinking is that his parents aren't meeting his immediate needs. He has perfected the kind of temper tantrum that causes strangers to turn and give that disdainful look that says, "Clearly his parents don't discipline him!". And oh how he loves to shriek like he's being burned at the stake when his mama *dares* to put him in his carseat.

But he's also the boy with the giggle that can warm even the coldest heart. He's the boy who will smile at strangers until they look at him and then he plays bashful. He is the boy who will catch his mama's eye in the rearview mirror and start a game of peek a boo that probably counts as distracted driving in the eyes of the law. He is the boy who runs from wherever he might be when he hears the sound of the garage door opening at about 3:45 so that he can be waiting at the top of the stairs when Daddy gets home. He is the boy who *loves* looking at pictures on Facebook and loves to be carried around the house so he can point out all the pictures of family and friends.

We are a lucky little family of three. Even when we are sleep deprived. Or grumpy about cold weather AGAIN. Even when we wish we were more than three, we are still lucky.

Tales from the Scale: Week 3

Down 3.6 more pounds for a total of 11.2lbs.

Honestly? No clue how that happened. I went into the weigh in really really hoping that I had made it to the 10lb mark but not feeling very confident. After all, I did eat an insanely delish burger at the bowling alley on Thursday. I couldn't even imagine how many points were in it, so I just guestimated that I used up all 49 of my extra weekly points in that one meal. And then there was the easter candy (fyi: reeses peanut butter eggs are 5 points plus) and that handful of fries that AJ didn't' finish.

So yeah. I'm a little shocked. But happy to have the first ten pounds behind me. The challenge right now is going to be finding time for exercise. My walks these days are lovely, but AJ is setting the pace which means we move slightly faster than a turtle and make frequent stops to identify things like mailboxes and fire hydrants. I love every moment, but I'm fairly sure I don't get activity points for that.

Next week it is pretty likely that I will reach the big five percent milestone. We'll see what next Monday brings!

Tales from the Scale: Week 2

Down 3.6lbs for a total of 7.6lbs.

Honestly, I think I only deserve credit for 2 of the 3.6lbs this week. The rest came courtesy of a nasty stomach bug or food poisoning or something that struck midday Sunday. Said ailment was so bad that I had to call Barb and give away my ticket to see Beauty and the Beast at the Performing Arts Center. To say I was bummed would be a huge understatement. It was one of the shows I most wanted to see this season. But....they don't pipe the show into the bathroom, so home I stayed and Barb and Brad scored an impromptu date night.

So, back to the scale. I feel like I learned a lot this week. I survived a week without Karl. I won't say I ate the best, but I definitely made better decisions than I would have in the past. And when I made bad decisions (like eating cheesecake instead of dinner on Wednesday, because yes, I totally did that. It was a bad day.) I bucked up and counted the points. And when it came down to it, I didn't go over.

I know I am only two weeks in but I am really trying to approach things differently this time around. I'm going to write down what I eat. Period. Good or bad. There is no Weight Watchers guru that's going to look at my tracker and scold me for eating two girl scout cookies (best 4 points ever!) instead of an apple. Contrary to the game I have played in my head in the past, the food still counts even if I don't write it down so I may as well be honest about how I'm doing.

Speaking of being honest about how I am doing, the topic at last night's meeting was the new Walk It program. On May 22nd, Weight Watchers is going to sponsor 50 5k run/walks around the country. Last night we went over the training program for being ready to walk or run a 5k in about 6 weeks. It made me think about the 5k I was supposed to run in January on our Florida trip. The whole trip, run included, didn't happen because I was on bedrest for a herniated disc in my back. Because I was pregnant at the time, I wasn't able to take anything drug wise and spent the week pretty miserable. Not my favorite memory ever and yet another reminder to me that random things can make me remember.

This week I'm hoping for some semblance of normal in our family. Karl isn't supposed to travel and our calendar looks pretty light in the obligation department. That means I should be able to cook dinner almost every night.

I'm not going to get my hopes up, but I'd be pretty stoked to hit ten pounds next Monday.