First Haircut
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
We were able to cut off the scragglies in the back. That's all she was able to be still for. We've had luck with Goodie clear rubber hair ties. They will stay in for half the day, though she's pretty determined to remove every item placed on her head. We love our Sweet Pea!
Donut Sunday
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Sweet Pea: Have new one donut pease!
Firstborn: Nooooo! I've only had four!
"Jus You N Daddy!"
Thursday, July 20, 2017
We've scheduled some one-on-one time with this one. She's adjusted pretty well to losing baby-status, but lately we've thought that she's needed some extra love.
She's getting her first haircut next week. This time, I skipped Sharkey's and Kids' Cuts and just scheduled with my stylist, who is amazingly talented. She's charging less than the others. So, it was a no-brainer for me. Since Sweet Pea is only two, it might not be much of a cut. But this stylist is great at problem solving.
We also told Sweet Pea that she gets to go out for ice cream with Daddy -- "just you and Daddy" -- when she poops on the pot. She asked, "Jus you n Daddy?" When we resolved the first and third person questions -- and clarified we weren't talking about the Engineer -- her face lit up. She's been walking around the house saying, "jus you n Daddy!" every day. Anyway, at least she lets us know what she needs instead of stewing over things in anger. We love her! <3
Comment from the Eldest:
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
"We love movies more than nature!"
(Said with angry eyebrows after I said we would not be watching a movie during our short car ride and they should instead look out their windows and tell me about all the cool things they see in nature.)
(Also, file under "Awesome Parenting".)
Whole30 Recap and Weight Loss
[I am posting this for my own memory and am in no way trying to get anyone else to lose weight! I spend far too much time thinking about my image, especially when most of my clothes don't fit (like after giving birth). Taking off a few pounds has helped me to forget about it and just live.]
Fitness gurus have said that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. I think that 95% of weight loss happens in your head. The biggest challenges I encounter are kids' meltdowns and pregnancies. (I'm not typing this for sympathy or to complain about our beautiful children. I love them and wouldn't trade them for anything! They have made me a better person in a thousand ways.)
Most mornings I wake up between 5:45 and 6:00am. I take my shower, shave, dry my hair, and brush my teeth -- because these things make me feel happy. When I am finished, it's 6:45 or 7am and the children are stirring. The moment they wake up, my life is out of control for about 90 minutes. Diapers and clothes need to be changed, beds made, children fed, fights mitigated, etc. Normally, I have not yet had coffee or a bite to eat or even prayed my simple Magnificat morning prayer. Tandem meltdowns happen at lunch time, snack time, and dinner time. These things are really no big deal in the grand scheme of life -- but in the moment, they are very stressful to me. I feel like I'm failing as a mom because no one is happy. I'm tempted to remember all of the stupid things I've ever done in my life -- and just recently have begun to recognize these thoughts as temptations that I can choose to reject. It normally takes a while for me to identify what is happening in my head when I start to feel awful. Many times, I'm also hungry when this happens. My habit is to turn to food.
Additionally, while pregnant I've felt like I deserve a treat! due to my body growing another human -- and reinforced by the hormonal shifts. The fatigue makes it difficult to put effort into making vitamin-rich foods that make me feel full and satisfied.
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| Credit: JimGaffigan.com |
When I see a mom struggling with her weight I just think, yes, being a mom is hard! After Mr. Serious's birth, I drank all the drinks and ate all the treats -- for several weeks. At my postpartum checkup, I weighed almost the same as when I was 9 months pregnant. And then, the holidays hit. And I started to gain even more weight -- adding to a number that was already pretty high for me (25 pounds overweight). I was in a vicious cycle. Kids scream; I pour myself a drink or eat a cookie. My mind wasn't in a good place. I felt like my body had been taken from me. None of my clothes fit. I hated getting dressed in anything but yoga pants. I didn't like looking in the mirror. I dreaded running into people I knew when I was single. Would they recognize me? Would they be disgusted? I was in a cycle of negative thinking. My mind was in a bad place.
DH kept telling me to cut myself some slack. After all, I birthed 4 babies in 5 years, 3 of them via c-section. He kept saying that I didn't need to lose any weight and that I was beautiful exactly as I was. For this I am grateful. It gave me the freedom to make the decision to lose weight for myself -- not in order to be loved by him.
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| Please excuse the Georgetown chalk-expletives. Hillary got 90% of the DC vote. |
After Thanksgiving, I realized that I was at a crossroads: accept that I'm an overweight mom, or, try to lose weight. I knew I would never be content with the former. But I was months and months out-of-habit of watching what I eat. I begged the Lord to help me with self-control. Honestly, some days I get by only by His grace.
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| Left: Thanksgiving-ish, Right: after 7 months, which is how long it took me to drop 17 lbs. |
I doubled-down on my Weight Watchers membership and made use of the Connect feature on their app. Connect is like Facebook, except it's 100% positive. Most people on WW have to lose a lot more weight than I. Many of them share their struggles (loss of loved ones, abuse, medical conditions, etc.) and how they lost weight despite these things. It's truly inspirational and helps me to put my small struggles into perspective. There are many faith-filled people, who post about the Lord helping them and quote Philippians 4:13, my favorite! Connect has been a blessing to me in many ways.
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| Left: last July 4th; Right: this July 4th. |
I lost the first 10 pounds pretty quickly; but I had a hard time sticking with it after that. I wasn't feeling full or satisfied after breakfast. I felt hungry all day. So, I was habitually overeating. Finally, I decided to try Whole30 to help me over the plateau. I have a love/hate relationship with Whole30. I love that its popularity makes it easy to find recipes. I also love that many of the recipes are simple -- no twenty-ingredient dishes! The emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables and protein have helped me to feel full and satisfied. Additionally, eliminating added sugar made a tremendous difference. Sugar is a weight-loss killer for me. (I'm not sugar-free anymore, but am sugar-reduced. I no longer feel addicted. I do not need dessert after every meal, which is a big deal for me!)
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| Left: circa 33rd birthday, Right: circa 35th birthday -- 2.8 lbs. from goal. |
Whole30 catapulted me over my plateau, helping me lose the next 10 pounds. Without it, I'd probably still be struggling at the -10 weight. My body is not perfect; but I'm not interested in obsessing about the postpartum imperfections. I am elated that my clothes fit again! I feel proud knowing that I did something hard. This will be a lifelong struggle for me, especially if the Lord calls us to have another baby in a few years. (I am not good at eating healthfully while pregnant!) But, it's important for me to know that I can do hard things. I hope to carry this knowledge with me through life.
Mr. Serious: 9 Months Old!
Monday, July 17, 2017
So, our Mr. Serious was called "placid" by the nurse who weighed him today. I took off his diaper, lifted him up, and set him down on the scale. The moment when most kids start screaming, he was just like "muh..." She laughed and said the fourth was placid. It took me a second to process that comment. Is it possible that there's a placid person in this family?! Unbelievable. He's amazing.
Lately, he is pulling himself up on everything and taking a few steps while holding hands. He's still pretty wobbly, but very motivated to keep up with his siblings. He has 6 teeth and eats everything. Our new project is getting more calories into his body. I am buying full fat foods. I didn't realize (until weigh-in today) how many more calories he's burning now that he's moving more. The doctor is not worried about his weight.
Weight: 16.6 lb., 3rd %
Height: 27.25", 10th %
Head Circumference: 18", 71st %
Overheard:
Friday, July 14, 2017
"Ahhh! There's no air-conditioning! I have to get OUT of here!"
-Eldest, playing with Engineer
Conversation with the Four-Year-Old:
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Dad: Did you like the French Fries mommy made for dinner?
No. Next time, mommy should make them like McDonalds and not use potatoes.
Summer Adventures: Kings Dominion
Friday, July 7, 2017
I love telling people that we bring all of our children here for free! It's just one of the many benefits of having four children, five and under! Hehe. Anyway, there are enough pre-K-friendly activities in Planet Snoopy and Soak City to make it worth the drive and two adult tickets. We try to avoid buying food there. They have covered picnic tables in the parking lot.
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| If you look closely, you can see two blond boys holding hands. Melts my heart! <3 |
This is the Family Care Center a.k.a. Anti-Meltdown-Station:
It's air-conditioned.
I love this sequence. Sweet Pea is getting bigger!
International walk near the entrance. Their are ethnic food restaurants on either side of this long fountain, and an "Eiffel Tower" ride at the end of it.
DH loves the kids enough to go on the puke-a-whirl:
Sally's Sea Plane:
Summer Adventures: US Botanic Garden
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Summer is the best time to be a stay-at-home-mom! Here is one of our many adventures so far:
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| Yes, this is DH in his rose garden. |
The children have informed us that this is their favorite museum. The Eldest loves the huge tropical section indoors. The Engineer loves the children's section. It's really impressive (plants, pots, watering cans, shovels, play structure, misters, shaded seating, lots of plant towers -- basically, everything I'd love to be able to do at home but have no time for!).
The next six happened in reverse order:
Catching some shade. We can't accurately communicate the heat and humidity in these photos, but it's hot! We still LOVE summer!
Some tropical plants. I just love these!
And hibiscus:
We ran into some school teachers who were off for the summer. They generously offered to get a picture of me with all my children. In hindsight, that was quite thoughtful!
I finally remembered to remove my sunglasses. Of course, it was on a day when I didn't put on makeup before noon!
This happened too fast for me to stop it; but, yes, I explained that it is illegal to pick flowers on federal property. And then I answered all of the follow up whys. "Why is it illegal?" "Why do other people own it?" "Why do your tax dollars pay for it?" Etc., etc.
These were taken in the children's courtyard:
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| Sweet Pea and her best elusive look. |
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