Like many moms pregnancy has changed the shape of my body, added several pounds and now I'm ready for a change. I have been working these last few months (well really I've been working for a couple of years, just with more intensity now) to lose that baby weight that has accumulated around my mid-section. It's been much slower than I had hoped and much to my dismay harder than I had anticipated.
I've learned recently that losing weight has a lot in common with doing laundry for a large family. In both cases if you are consistent, working each day you can stay on top of things and see progress. It's not all going to get done at once but it isn't overwhelming. Your laundry piles will get smaller just like your waistline will begin to shrink. But also like laundry taking a few days off can cause a pile up that puts you back several days or even weeks. In some ways this discovery can be depressing. What if you want to have a weekend off or a large piece of cake to celebrate a birthday does that mean all your hard work is for naught? It may seem like that but the reality is that if you have established a good routine/ good habits you can get back on track. It may not be where you wanted to be at that point but it doesn't have to stop you dead in your tracks. Just get back in the game as soon as you can and before you know it you'll be seeing the bottoms of your laundry baskets and the numbers on your scale (or tape measure) go down.
So as I continue to wage war on dirty clothes and extra pounds I will work or consistency, establishing good routines and soon I'll reach my goal.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Shoes, Shoes, Shoes
Shoes used to be one of my favorite things. If I went to the mall I was almost sure to come home with a new pair. Strappy sandals, elegant heels, sparkling flats, or fun flip flops. In recent years though shoes have become practical. I only buy what I need and I stick to the basics: black heels, brown flats, plain flip flops. And to top that the combination of shoes and kids is about to drive me insane. From my oldest to my youngest we have a shoe crisis.
With my oldest the problem is that she only wears tennis shoes. From jeans to Easter dresses she insists that they go with everything. I can't tell you how many times we've gotten to church and I've turned to look at my beautiful daughter, her hair neatly brushed, a lovely top, nice pants and her old grubby tennis shoes. I'm constantly trying to convince her to wear more appropriate shoes but her reasoning is "no one looks at my feet."
My 9yr old son's problems stem from not tying his shoes. At least 10 times a day I'm begging him to tie his shoes. His shoe strings are always in tatters and the day always comes when they've been destroyed to the point they have to be replaced. It's bad enough he needs new shoes every 4 months because he wears them out or grows out of them but to have to replace the shoe strings in between is just down right frustrating.
Then there's C, my 7 yr old. He can't find one of his tennis shoes right now. His solution to that was to wear his basketball shoes. Which was an acceptable solution until he left them outside in the rain. So today I sent him to school crying in his crocs (which of course 6 months ago was all he would wear).
Little K (age4) is another story. She has plenty of shoes and loves to wear them all. The problem she never wants to wear the ones that actually match with her outfit and often spends forever trying to find the pair she believes would properly finish her look. Most days this ends with tears as that pair is MIA.
My 2 yr old doesn't care much which shoes he wears but he can never seem to remember where he left them.
Shoes - those things I use to love have now become a constant headache. Whether I'm tripping over them, arguing about them or searching for that one missing one they just don't bring that smile to my face that they once did. And the new puppy running off with them isn't really helping.
With my oldest the problem is that she only wears tennis shoes. From jeans to Easter dresses she insists that they go with everything. I can't tell you how many times we've gotten to church and I've turned to look at my beautiful daughter, her hair neatly brushed, a lovely top, nice pants and her old grubby tennis shoes. I'm constantly trying to convince her to wear more appropriate shoes but her reasoning is "no one looks at my feet."
My 9yr old son's problems stem from not tying his shoes. At least 10 times a day I'm begging him to tie his shoes. His shoe strings are always in tatters and the day always comes when they've been destroyed to the point they have to be replaced. It's bad enough he needs new shoes every 4 months because he wears them out or grows out of them but to have to replace the shoe strings in between is just down right frustrating.
Then there's C, my 7 yr old. He can't find one of his tennis shoes right now. His solution to that was to wear his basketball shoes. Which was an acceptable solution until he left them outside in the rain. So today I sent him to school crying in his crocs (which of course 6 months ago was all he would wear).
Little K (age4) is another story. She has plenty of shoes and loves to wear them all. The problem she never wants to wear the ones that actually match with her outfit and often spends forever trying to find the pair she believes would properly finish her look. Most days this ends with tears as that pair is MIA.
My 2 yr old doesn't care much which shoes he wears but he can never seem to remember where he left them.
Shoes - those things I use to love have now become a constant headache. Whether I'm tripping over them, arguing about them or searching for that one missing one they just don't bring that smile to my face that they once did. And the new puppy running off with them isn't really helping.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Somtimes Things Can Get a Little Crazy
With a family of 7 no matter what kind of day we're having there is always some excitement. Unfortunately sometimes the excitement happens all at one time.
Take for example this evening. It all started when my husband decided to take a short trip into town. I was in the kitchen with my two year old, who suddenly noticed the sound of the pick-up leaving the driveway. Within an instant he was out the door and around the corner only to discover the truck and daddy were already gone. Well that didn't deter him one little bit. He quickly hopped on to his trike (which in itself is sad as it has been through all 5 kids, run over at least 3 times which has required the back tires were replaced with lawnmower tires, it's rusty and missing one pedal, but none of that slows Lil' B down one bit). He swiftly started down the driveway towards the street with tears streaming down his face and screaming "I'm coming with you. Don't leave me Daddy!!" Luckily I caught up with just before he hit the street and any on coming traffic.
After wrangling him into the house, calming his sobs and cleaning his tear stained face I finally convinced him to go outside and play with his older brothers and sister. I reminded the kids to keep an eye on him and went to work in the kitchen. Checking on the four of them (little K was playing downstairs because she said she was feeling tired of outside) every few minutes, I worked to clean up the mess from dinner while our new puppy that we adopted on Monday, rested on the couch in the adjoining room. Suddenly I looked up and noticed that Lil' B was no longer visible and fearing that he was trying to follow Roy again I ran to the door, flung it open and there went the puppy. Now not only could I not see my baby but our puppy (an 11 month old terrier mix, named Henry, who can run like a bat out of hell) was on the loose.
I quickly looked for Lil' B whom I found sitting buckled into an extra carseat in the garage. Figuring he was safe I took off after my older three kids and the puppy. They were already in the neighbor's yard and the kids were trying to trap Henry. That however is about impossible. Henry is an expert at dodging people and runs fast enough that none of us can keep up with him. I sent K (my oldest daughter) home to watch the little two and helped the boys pursue the dog. After about 15 minutes of chasing him in circles around the neighbors yard Henry made a break for it into the neighborhood that's under construction behind our 's. We took off fearing that this we may never catch him. After we broke through the tree line we were surprised to see Henry jumping around the feet of a guy who had stopped to look at one of the houses for sale. I yelled "grab that dog's collar!" He quickly obliged and caught the Henry. After thanking him and giving him all the positives of our neighborhood and school system I took the dog and the boys and headed towards home just in time to see my husband walking across the field to offer his assistance. His 30min errand turned into a mad dash after a crying toddler and a wild puppy.
Now as I sit here this evening the sweet puppy is curled up sleeping in a chair and my little boy is safe upstairs in his bed and I am grateful. I am however beginning the search for invisible fencing and wondering if it would be considered bad parenting to put a collar on Lil' B. Just kidding :)
Take for example this evening. It all started when my husband decided to take a short trip into town. I was in the kitchen with my two year old, who suddenly noticed the sound of the pick-up leaving the driveway. Within an instant he was out the door and around the corner only to discover the truck and daddy were already gone. Well that didn't deter him one little bit. He quickly hopped on to his trike (which in itself is sad as it has been through all 5 kids, run over at least 3 times which has required the back tires were replaced with lawnmower tires, it's rusty and missing one pedal, but none of that slows Lil' B down one bit). He swiftly started down the driveway towards the street with tears streaming down his face and screaming "I'm coming with you. Don't leave me Daddy!!" Luckily I caught up with just before he hit the street and any on coming traffic.
After wrangling him into the house, calming his sobs and cleaning his tear stained face I finally convinced him to go outside and play with his older brothers and sister. I reminded the kids to keep an eye on him and went to work in the kitchen. Checking on the four of them (little K was playing downstairs because she said she was feeling tired of outside) every few minutes, I worked to clean up the mess from dinner while our new puppy that we adopted on Monday, rested on the couch in the adjoining room. Suddenly I looked up and noticed that Lil' B was no longer visible and fearing that he was trying to follow Roy again I ran to the door, flung it open and there went the puppy. Now not only could I not see my baby but our puppy (an 11 month old terrier mix, named Henry, who can run like a bat out of hell) was on the loose.
I quickly looked for Lil' B whom I found sitting buckled into an extra carseat in the garage. Figuring he was safe I took off after my older three kids and the puppy. They were already in the neighbor's yard and the kids were trying to trap Henry. That however is about impossible. Henry is an expert at dodging people and runs fast enough that none of us can keep up with him. I sent K (my oldest daughter) home to watch the little two and helped the boys pursue the dog. After about 15 minutes of chasing him in circles around the neighbors yard Henry made a break for it into the neighborhood that's under construction behind our 's. We took off fearing that this we may never catch him. After we broke through the tree line we were surprised to see Henry jumping around the feet of a guy who had stopped to look at one of the houses for sale. I yelled "grab that dog's collar!" He quickly obliged and caught the Henry. After thanking him and giving him all the positives of our neighborhood and school system I took the dog and the boys and headed towards home just in time to see my husband walking across the field to offer his assistance. His 30min errand turned into a mad dash after a crying toddler and a wild puppy.
Now as I sit here this evening the sweet puppy is curled up sleeping in a chair and my little boy is safe upstairs in his bed and I am grateful. I am however beginning the search for invisible fencing and wondering if it would be considered bad parenting to put a collar on Lil' B. Just kidding :)
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