storm's a-comin'

Apparently, we might get 5-10" of snow tomorrow. Yippee. For us, it won't be such a big whoop, as we have no big plans to be ruined. Tomorrow night, Brian's class and my yoga class will probably be cancelled, as will Nick's and my playgroup on Friday morning, which makes me a bit sad, because I consider that precious socializing time. Mostly, if we do get that much snow, we'll just be housebound and bored. There are worse things. I'll let you know what goes down (or in this case, what comes down).

Our friend Mike will be here soon to watch Idol with us (well....with me, since Brian doesn't give a hoot about it). Over and out...

seriously...

At noon, it was so temperate outside that I didn't even wear a jacket, and now, it's snowing cats and dogs. Only in the midwest!

one step forward, two steps back

Last night, Nick pooped on the potty for the second time, with only slightly less trauma than the first time. But this morning, when I arrived at preschool to pick him up, I was greeted with the plastic bag of shame - he had pooped in his pants! Oh, what fun I had washing out his undies and jeans. Sigh.

In other news, I went to a muscle-toning class this morning and had a nice time chatting with my friend Leigh Ann. And now, it's so incredibly, scarily, freakishly windy outside that I fear meeting the same fate as Dorothy!

American Idol tonight.

a nice day with my daddy

My Dad arrived this morning around 10:30, and we had a nice time! The first thing we did was head to the commissary to get some groceries. He always likes to go there to see what he can get a good deal on. After we got home and got everything put away, he taught me how to play chess! Why he never taught me before is a mystery to both of us. I guess he never thought of it, and I never asked. :) Anyway, I really like it! It's fraught with complicated strategy, to be sure, and will take a long time to really master, but it's right up my alley. It calls for much anticipation and analysis, and an eagle-eye. Now that I know the basic moves and how to play, I can work on polishing my skill. We bought a super cheapo set for me at WalMart, and I'm even going to try to teach Brian. Does anyone around here know how to play? I can see myself getting sort of obsessed with it, because it's just so "meaty" - does that make sense? It puts my other love, backgammon, to shame. I mean, compared to chess, backgammon is child's play!

After the chess and Nick's nap, we headed to a newer restaurant here that we'd never eaten at - Miller's Grill. We actually had a great experience there, which is hard to find around here! We all liked our food, and we had good service. Nick's hamburger was supposed to be well but came with a pink center, and they quickly brought us a new one when we pointed that out. So, we really couldn't complain! We'll definitely go there again.

After dinner, we stopped by WalMart, where we got the aforementioned chess set, and Dad bought a Buzz Lightyear toy and "Toy Story 2" for Nick for his birthday. Then, Dad headed home, and we have just been lounging about our living room for the rest of the evening. Nick has been rather turdly, and he finally got so intolerable that we banished him to an early bedtime. Poor kid. :) Hopefully, tomorrow he'll be calmer. One thing that should help is that it's going to be so freakishly warm here (close to 60!) that Brian is planning to take Nick to the park so he can run off his energy - the poor kid really needs that. It's been so cold here that I can't remember the last time he played outside.

I'm feeling rather guilty about my eating today, and about the fact that I've only exercised one out of the past 3 days, so I'm all over it tomorrow. No rest for the weary...

P.S. As I predicted, the fact that he pooped on the potty once served in no way to make Nick more willing to do it again. We went through minor trauma once again today, and for the sake of logistics and timing, ended up letting him use a diaper. :(
We're going to get medieval on him again tomorrow, though.

frustration....and a breakthrough (two bits)

I gained a half pound. Grrrrr. Just can't seem to get any momentum in the right direction. I'll have to be extra super good this week. Let's get this show on the road!

So, last night, my almost-4-year-old son.......drum roll, please......pooped on the potty for the first time! I won't go into all the gory details here, but rest assured that it's not as neat and tied-up-in-a-bow as it sounds. There were hours of back-and-forth, angst, and frustration, culminating in a very traumatic showdown whereby Mama had to open up a big ol' can of tough love all over her son. I was alternately proud of myself for my tenacity and fraught with guilt, but I did stick to my guns. (I wouldn't put a diaper on him, and he's too uncoordinated to put one on himself, which worked in my favor.) When things had reached their frantic, desperate climax and I was sure Nick would be scarred for life, he finally made a doody in the potty. Eureka! I pretty much broke down at that point and cried, torn between pride and utter mental exhaustion. In no way do I fool myself by thinking that it's going to suddenly be easy from here on out. This is really only the beginning, but it's a start.

As we had promised him all along, we bundled ourselves into the car at 8:30 p.m. for a prize-gathering trip to WalMart. Nick got to eat a pretzel at the Subway inside the store, and then he got some candy, a pack of new undies, and some cheapo toys. Once he recovered from the sheer terror and trauma of the whole experience, he seemed pretty proud of himself, so maybe he'll give us a repeat performance today. I can only pray.

jeepers creepers

Nick has got great peepers! (not that we had any reason to think otherwise) He did very well at his eye checkup today. He was a little squirrelly at times, but all things considered, he was actually quite calm and cooperative, not to mention cute! As you probably know, with small kids, the eye charts involve pictures instead of letters. Well, each time he identified a picture, Nick didn't think it was enough to just say what it was; he had to add a little extra information. Like "It's a phone - ring, ring!" or "It's a birthday cake with small, tiny candles!" or "It's a car - vroom, vroom!" You get the idea. It was actually pretty amusing. :)

My eyes are unchanged from a year ago - 20/20 on the right and 20/30 on the left. With the exception of Brian, we're a pretty well-sighted little family!

very clam puppies

This was in a local ad I saw. I assume they meant "calm." :)

a not-so-stellar day

Today was just one of those frustrating days. It started very promisingly: Brian didn't have to be in to work until 9, so he was able to take Nick to preschool, giving me the ability to sleep in a little.

I got up, got ready, and set off for the morning muscle toning class at the fitness center. When I got there, though, the class had been cancelled. Aarrgghh! So, I went back home and did my cardio workout instead. There was supposed to be another muscle toning class this evening at 5:30, so I figured I'd do my cardio at home and then go back for the evening class. Well, when I arrived there this evening, I found out that they had just switched the class schedule around a little, and the class this evening was going to be a step class. I really didn't want another hour of cardio today - I had expressly wanted to do the muscle toning, since that's the area where I've really been lacking, and I've been really excited about getting some of that at the class. I know I should have just stayed for the step class, but I was disappointed and just didn't feel like it. So, I headed back home - two wasted trips to the fitness center in one day! I know this really isn't the end of the world, but hey - it's my day, and I'm free to complain about it in my own blog! :)

To top it all off, Nick has been El Turdo all day long. I mean, we're talking crying, whining, talking back, disobeying - the works! It's been a very exhausting day in that respect. He's been telling us we're stupid and he doesn't like us (in between kisses and hugs), and just generally being very defiant.

Nick is now in bed, though, and it's blessedly quiet here. Well, aside from the TV, which Brian is watching. I can handle that, though. :) Tomorrow, Nick and I have eye checkups - I hope he's in a better mood and can behave for his appointment. We shall see!

a coupla things

1. Earlier today, Nick said to me "You, my friend, are a little cutie."

2. Chew on this:
"All we ever have is now. If you can't look around now and see the abundance in your life, you won't be able to notice it in five years either, no matter how thin [insert any other adjective you please] you are. Happiness is not about changing your circumstances but changing the eyes through which you view your circumstances." - Geneen Roth, international teacher, speaker, and writer on emotional eating

That really speaks to me! How about you?...

my sweet-smelling little boy

This evening, we gave Nick a bath, and afterwards, I was holding his naked body, breathing in his delicious, clean-little-boy scent. I said "Oh - you're so warm and clean and fresh!", whereupon he farted, quite loudly, right on my arm. :)

whoo hoo!

Another 2 lbs. have bitten the dust - yay! I still long for the days of 3-pound losses, but I'll take this. I do agree with my Patty-friend that the less weight you have to lose, the more slowly you lose it. It sucks that it has to slow down like that, but I guess them's the breaks.

I'm really excited, because I've discovered this zesty fitness center in town. My friend Leigh Ann works there, and she has given me a 14-day free pass so that I can check it out. They offer a different fitness class every morning at 9 a.m. and every evening at 5:30, and what's really amazing is that they offer childcare during the classes for only $1! So far, I've tried a muscle-toning class, a kickboxing class, and yoga, and I've enjoyed them all. They also offer pilates, core conditioning, step, etc. I think it's going to work out really well for me and be a great way to mix up my exercise so my body doesn't get too used to any one thing. On days Nick has preschool, I can drop him off and then go to class, and on Wednesdays, which are typically my one morning when I have nothing to do, I can take Nick with me and go to the kickboxing class. And, I can go to evening classes if I feel so inclined. Brian is happy to watch Nick while I go, and on the one evening a week that he has class, I can just take Nick with me! You can pay a really reasonable monthly fee and take unlimited classes, or you can even pay per class - I think it's just $2. I'm going to do the pay-per-class thing for a while, and then if I'm going enough to make it a better deal to pay the monthly fee, I'll switch to that. I really like the place - it's small and intimate, and all the women I've met there are really nice. It's very unintimidating. And the classes are hard enough to really get my heart pumping, but the moves aren't so complicated that I can't keep up. I think this is just what I need at this point.

I finally got to see Jutta, at long last, and she brought me some really neat presents from Germany. Love her! The best gift is this really unique Santa figurine to add to my collection. I'm so very glad she's back - I really missed her!

We were thinking of going to Springfield this weekend, but have decided to just hang around here, doing domestic stuff and taking it easy. We might take Nick bowling or rent some movies, and I might go to the theater and see "Juno." It's getting rave reviews, and is apparently something special. Tomorrow morning, we're going to Cooper's 3rd birthday party - he's my friend Rebecca's son. Birthday cake is always a welcome thing! Not great for the ol' diet, but if there is birthday cake in the room, I WILL be having a piece - that's simply non-negotiable. :)

American Idol is underway, so life is good. I must admit, though, that this year, I'm not as into the beginning part, where they show all the bad and weird auditions. I'm more impatient for them to just get to the good part, where they've picked the good people and we get to hear them sing whole songs. I think the whole "look at the awful, pathetic, freakish people" bit is getting a little old. I mean, this is the 7th season - we get it!

Well, I must stop babbling and go get something done. Oh, by the way - this is my 100th post!! How cool is that? I never dreamed, when I started this back in the summer, that I would get so into it that I would do 100 posts in about six months' time. Wow. I must really enjoy blogging. :)

from the mouth of my babe

Nick has been saying/doing some cute stuff lately, so I thought I'd share. Yesterday evening, after we had taken down the Christmas tree, we went out for dinner. When we arrived home, I was bemoaning the fact that there were no longer Christmas lights twinkling in the window, and Nick piped up from the back seat with "Oh, Mom - you'll live!"

Later in the evening, I told Nick that I didn't want him to turn 4, because I wanted him to be my little baby boy. He said "Hey, Mom - I have an idea! I can be 4 and still be your little baby boy at the same time!" What a wise young man!

Today, we were meandering through Big Lots, and we were walking past the greeting cards when Nick suddenly said "Hey - can I pick a card to send to Grandma and Grandpa (in VA)?" I said "Sure - why don't you choose one?" I figured he'd go for some kids' birthday card or something, but he actually chose a totally appropriate card - it has a pretty flower on the front and says "thinking of you" inside. He was SO excited that he picked this card all by himself to send to his grandparents. He said that he thought they'd like the pretty flower. I wrote a note in it, and this evening, I'll let him scribble something in it. They'll love it!

Kids are so funny, sweet, and thoughtful! If you have any, give yours a hug. :)

so long, christmas cheer

Today, I took down the Christmas tree, which was our last remaining vestige of holiday decor. :( Kind of sad, but it's nice to have the space back in the living room. The room just looks so bland and colorless now! It's funny, because I realized today that for someone who loves color as much as I do, my living room decor is somewhat lacking in that area. I'll have to see what I can do about that...

This coming week promises to be a good one. First of all, my good friend Jutta is returning from Germany at long last!! I'm beside myself. And then, of course, we have the premiere of American Idol. Tomorrow, Nick and I are going to go up the road to Rolla for some shopping and to visit the train table at the bookstore. While Nick's at preschool on Tuesday, I'm planning to go to a class at a local fitness center that I've been meaning to check out. Brian has a 4-day weekend next weekend, due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so we might go to Springfield for a couple of days. We're also going to the 3rd birthday party of a friend's son. Should be a lovely week!

30 lbs., take 2

Well, here I am, back at the 30-lb. weight-loss mark again. I'm happy to be back up to 30, and I'm really hoping that I'll keep going like gangbusters from here. It's a little frustrating to look back over the last couple of months and see what a small net loss I've had over that time period. Before then, I had been averaging about 6-7 lbs. a month, but that has gone quite out the window. If I can achieve that average again from here on out, I can still be done by around my birthday in May. That's really what I'm hoping for! I know that by now, you're probably sick of my whining, and don't understand what I'm even whining ABOUT, considering that I've lost 30 lbs.! And to be honest, I sort of agree with you. :) I'm just such a perfectionist, and I hold myself up to very stringent standards. All I know is that I want to see those 3 and 2-lb. losses that I had been having earlier, but I'm having a hard time getting back to that pace. To me, one pound a week just won't cut it! I'm incredibly impatient, if you hadn't already picked up on that. :) But seriously, enough about that.

Trivia for the day: The first person who can tell me which movie has the character Truly Scrumptious wins a prize! I don't actually have the prize right now, mind you, but will commence looking for it as soon as I have a winner.

Don't have much on tap for the weekend. I'm going to finally finish taking down my Xmas decor and do some other domesticity, and I might go to a movie. I also need to watch the new Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy that I recorded last night. Yay!

That's me...

a nice lunch

Patty - I'm really afraid of tornadoes, too. I had a very scary night as a young teen, when my parents were out of town and I was home alone during severe weather. A tornado passed near our house, and I've never forgotten it. I'll sometimes have bad dreams involving tornadoes. Those and bugs - eek!

Had lunch with Rick today at Cracker Barrel. It was nice! We just chatted and filled in some more of the past 10 years for each other. Our waitress left something to be desired, but that's neither here nor there. :) Nick was a pretty good boy, but got to the end of his patience before Rick and I did. We would have been happy to stay a bit longer, drinking coffee and talking, but Nick got rather antsy, so we made our way home. Now he's napping, and I'm looking out the window at another incredibly gloomy, rainy day. Harrumph! I'm so not motivated to do anything. I really need to exercise today, though, since I didn't yesterday. Hopefully, the siren song of Sex and the City will be enough to lure me down to the chilly, inhospitable basement. :)

weathering the storms

As you probably know, there was some very dicey weather in MO last night. A series of storm systems moved right up the I-44 corridor, one after another, in a relentless march. There were lots of tornadoes, and 2 people were killed. Everyone in my family is fine, though my Dad is without power right now. There were some scary moments for us - we heard tornado sirens and went to the basement - but everything missed us. We had rain, thunder, lightning, and wind, but the centers of the storm systems seemed to all pass just north of us. Some communities, such as Strafford and Republic, got hit very hard and sustained much damage. Our hearts go out to those people affected by these storms. Nature is certainly amazing and frightening in its random power. Let's not take anything for granted.

i'm so tired today!

I don't know if it's because Brian went back to work today, so I couldn't sleep in for the first time in two weeks, or because I'm PMSing, or because it's so gloomy outside. It's probably all three, evilly conspiring to make me want to climb between the sheets - and it's only 3 p.m.! It's gonna be a long evening...

back in control

I'm feeling really good right now. I resumed my online food journal a few days ago, and while it is a bit time-consuming, it really does help to know exactly the calories, fat, etc. that I'm consuming. Just the act of keeping track makes me stay under my limit. It's really amazing how satisfying 1400 calories a day can be! I've gone shopping and stocked up on some good protein-y stuff, like Boca Burgers, Morningstar Farms veggie corn dogs, precooked grilled chicken strips, South Beach Diet cranberry walnut chicken salad kits, etc. I've been eating more veggies, and as always, I'm eating low-fat dairy stuff and tons of whole grains. I also like to eat frozen dinners by Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers Smart Ones - they have some tasty stuff! And if you haven't tried Skinny Cow mint ice cream sandwiches, I highly recommend them. Oh, Patty - I just thought of you because I know you like the Alouette spreadable cheeses. Have you tried the berries and cream flavor? It's wonderful! I swear that I didn't mean to list everything I eat - it just sort of happened. And by no means is that a comprehensive list. :)

My point was just that I'm really excited, because I've stocked the kitchen with good stuff, I'm keeping track, I'm exercising, and I feel like I'm back in the weight-loss groove. Hopefully, next Friday's weigh-in will reflect my efforts.

I'm really looking forward to this coming week, because all my stuff is starting up again after the holiday hiatus. Playgroups resume, MOPS resumes, Nick's preschool is back in full swing, etc. Yay! I'm going to meet Rick, the ex-boyfriend mentioned a few posts ago, for lunch. Should be fun.

I sort of compromised on the taking down of Christmas decor. I was going to do it all this weekend, but ended up losing steam, so I took down everything but the big tree, the mantel, and the entertainment center. Those are sort of the epicenter of the decor, so I decided to enjoy them (especially the glorious tree!) for another week and take them down next weekend. I must be loosening up! :)

Hope everyone's having a great weekend...

one resolution

Like my Jillie-friend, I'm not really one to make New Year's resolutions. However, since I'm in the midst of this weight-loss, and really need to galvanize myself to get the show on the road, my one resolution this year is to lose the rest of my excess weight and be down to 150-155 pounds by my birthday on May 6. I've got 4 months, which should be ample time. So, game on! And let me tell you - that is gonna be one helluva birthday party!!! :)