Jessica - I'm wondering why she doesn't want to climb right now? I have one kiddo like that and usually it's because he has fallen or had a bad experience - he is stubborn and marks things off his mental list for a year at a time if they cross him . All my other kiddos just get mad at the affront and try twice and hard, which isn't very wise if it is, say, the drawer that keeps smooshing your fingers (I'm looking at you, Holly!).
The scale says I'm officially a fat cow. Between travel, holidays, and hormones I am up TWENTY FIVE POUNDS since the middle of March. Some of that is water retention, sure, but a good fifteen of that is honest gain. I had a mental freak out and bounced right back up after my last weight loss round, to about the place I was at before (which was my original goal). The rest seems to be baby related.
So. Cake it done, I'm back on plan. It might be too much to ask for here as I'm exhausted and nauseous but I'm going to work at getting back down to my original goal (155-160) before earnest pregnancy gains begin. I'm not going to keep my calories artificially low if I'm hungry or having a blood sugar drop (a because that makes morning sickness ten times worse) but I'm sticking to my low carb food lists I usually maintain on and we'll see what comes of it. 1800-ish calories and 35 net carbs of whole food should help me slowly but surely drop the subcutaneous fat gain, even if the scale stays the same because of added baby weight.
I was successful with this the last pregnancy, so I'm basically rinsing and repeating.
Last night was crazy, as I had to prepare my notebook and end of year report for my contact teacher. It's a lot of paperwork but I'm always glad to have the record when I'm done, and the meeting today went very well.
Our state just implemented a STAR reading assessment for k-3 that is mandatory for all children, so my two oldest girls did that. The kindergartener scored quite well as an emerging reader and I found the assessment pegged her right where I did in terms of skill, which was encouraging both for me and the accuracy of the test. My first grader tested a smidge low compared to her reading ability, but her comprehension isn't nearly as advanced as her decoding skills. Still, she was firmly in the probable reading category and almost near the top of the assessment range, which isn't too bad since she's only seven. I'm glad to have that hurdle out of the way and know where they're at in terms of the range of their skills, though, as I don't have much of a standard of comparison besides my own curriculum goals for the kiddos.
The littler two didn't eat the puzzles or burn the office down, so they had a good day as well. We only had one diaper blowout on the way out the door and still weren't late, which is a HUGE victory
Goals for today include storing away the winter gear, washing all my maternity clothes, and reading several chapters in a book I'm working through called "The Heart of Anger" by Lou Priolo. It is AWESOME. If, for some reason, I end up with LOTS of time on my hands I need to get a shawl off my knitting needles, too, as it is about two years late for the original date of receipt. Whoops.
And what will your roommate do for lunch? Curious minds want to know.
I'm more curious as to if your roommate eats eight sweet potatoes in a day! Must have been for the week! I love sweet potatoes and you've reminded me I need to cook some!
Lots of birthdays! Happy Birthday to everyone!
Jessica, that is strange that she doesn't want to climb. Is she wanted to be carried? My DD loved to be carried, by me! Yep, she was spoiled but I could never stand a crying baby.
Krampus, 8 - EIGHT ENTIRE POTATOES? How does that even fit in a Tupperware? And wouldn't it weigh like 4 pounds? Weren't you tipped off by the weight? Inquiring minds need to know :>)
Wow arctic mama! You are one busy chickie! Good for you for reigning things in and not usually pregnancy as an excuse for a free for all. We do lots of reading assessments at my school and parents are often surprised their kiddos don't score higher. You hit the nail on the head about decoding skills. Many kids can decode practically anything and can "read" high level text, but their comprehension of the text often doesn't match.
I forgot to congratulate Megan on being a land owner! You are so grown up!
I'm also curious about the sweet potato follow up.
Taryl, she hasn't fallen while I was watching her or while DH was watching her, so unless something happened while MIL was watching her I don't know what it could be. I don't think MIL usually takes them out of the play room at all so hopefully she wasn't letting them climb the stairs. C has nearly taken a tumble a couple times (where she's up on the second step, then suddenly decides to turn around and falls, and DH or I catch her before she actually hits the ground) but she has no issue with the stairs.
Maybe she does just want to be carried. Very strange! It's like when C suddenly decided she didn't want to take baths anymore. She came around when she saw A in the bath playing with new bath toys.
Megan, I also forgot to say congrats on the land purchase!
Unrelenting nausea here today. I've never had it this bad in any of my pregnancies, or this early. A crazy part of my brain is hoping it's twins, just to justify feeling so extraordinarily awful.
The downside of this is that nothing sounds goods and everything feels heavy in my normal diet. I'm on plan but by the skin of my teeth!
Krampus, 8 - EIGHT ENTIRE POTATOES? How does that even fit in a Tupperware? And wouldn't it weigh like 4 pounds? Weren't you tipped off by the weight? Inquiring minds need to know :>)
I was feeding the cats, brushing my teeth and putting pants on all at the same time! Yes it was a bit heavy but my lunches are usually heavy too (voluminous salads with a full serving of meat). We use really big Tupperware...
I went with the indie sub shop. My roommate fortunately had another lunch and had just baked the sweet potatoes to have on hand during the week for dinners and future lunches, so no harm, no foul.
Taryl - hope you feel better soon. At this rate it had better be TRIPLETS. Is morning sickness nausea similar to motion sickness nausea, where having a little something in your stomach makes it loads better?
Yes, it's definitely more like motion sickness than stomach flu. Very unsettled and low with a dizzy component for me, and eating frequently does help, which is not the greatest for diet. I just tend to reach for cheese and hardboiled eggs, even though I really want crackers, because protein always helps it abate and carbs generally make me feel worse.
It seems morning sickness is actually related to blood sugar swings, which makes sense given the biomechanics of pregnancy, so my goal is always to keep it stable. But yeah, right now I'm laying in bed feeling awful and what I need to do is get everyone up and eat something. It just sounds like a lot of work
TGIF. This afternoon we're going out for happy hour on the beach for a colleague who's leaving. I'm going to drink a beer instead of a hugely caloric frozen daiquiri, which this place does really well but... I've been streaming Jillian Michaels workouts from Amazon prime and skipping happy hours after too many last month and my pants are on the looser side of the pants-fitting spectrum. Isn't it amazing how that works? I don't want to blow it this evening. BF and I are hoping to take the sailboat out tomorrow and have a day "date". What are everyone's weekend plans?
Jessica, though my nieces are not twins and are two years apart, it amazes me what different personalities they have both had from birth. The older niece has never been clingy or wanting to be held much. You might think since she was an only child until she was two, she would have been spoiled by being held, extra attention, etc. and want it more once she had a sibling to share mom & dad with. But she is just off and running no matter what, even when she does want attention, and climbs on everything. The younger niece always wants to be held. "Uppa Uppa" constantly. Older niece is loud, younger niece is quiet. Maybe it's just different personalities of your girls. Do their personalities seem similar or different other than the climbing?
Taryl, sorry your morning sickness is so bad. As I am neither a doctor nor have I ever been pregnant I don't have any advice to offer by I have sympathy. Have you been to the doctor/midwife yet for your first visit? Maybe they could give you some insight as to why this pregnancy is feeling different than your others. Sounds like your kids are doing great in school, congrats!
Krampus, mmm. Baked sweet potato sounds delicious. There is absolutely nothing wrong with huge, heavy tupperwares full of salad! You're in good company.
Alison, you sound busy! Hope you've enjoyed all of your dinner occasions this week.
Megan-- I have amazon prime but haven't thought to stream videos-- do you have your TV hooked up? I haven't figured out how to do that so I'd have to use my computer which seems difficult. Glad your pants are fitting better!!
My younger dd is driving home from Arizona and should hopefully be home in an hour or so. I thought she'd want to get dinner but she said she wants to unpack so she doesn't start off messy-- she can be super slovenly sometimes so I'm glad she's trying to make a good start. She wants to get an acai bowl with me as she hasn't found them in Arizona so that works well with my eating plan. Now that she'll be home, I'll have to think a little more about making dinners. Dh will be making a brief appearance for a few days next week and I always eat more when he's home, so I'll have to work hard to keep it all in check.
One of dh's old bosses is being moved to another group and dh might apply for her old job. He sounds like he'd rather not, but he's being pressured to do so. I'm all for it because he wouldn't be traveling quite as much. Still a good amount, but for shorter periods of time most likely. Plus it would be a promotion which is always (usually) good. We'll see....
My pets are going to lose it when dd comes home. They LOVE her to pieces. I've been a nervous wreck waiting for her to drive home by herself but luckily work has kept me quite busy!
That sounds like such a fun night, Megan! It's definitely a balance, we can have the dessert as long as it isn't a weekly thing on top of everything else, right?
Michele - that is great that your daughter is visiting, I hope it is a sweet time this summer. And so, too, with your husbands potential job shift. Sounds like a great schedule, I always hate it and my husband had to travel for work.
Taryl, Hope you feel better soon! I had it really bad with both of my pregnancies but yet still managed to gain almost 50 pounds with each.
Michele, Is your DD home for the whole summer? I forgot what year she is in college.
My DD finished exams Thursday and left NYC today and is on her way to Las Vegas. I have been really nervous for about a month about it, but now that she is on the way I feel a little better for some reason. There are 5 other girls going with her. It is her roommate and then 4 other girls that are all going to share a brownstone next year. They got a great lottery number for the dorms. One of them is from LV and they were originally staying with the parents. Then about a month ago the parents got them a suite. I told DD we don't have the money to pay for that and she said the girl's parents are covering it. Then I said what about meals? She said they are going to go to the grocery store and stock up. Well, she is used to living on a very meager budget so I guess it will be okay. They all just turned 21... so that's my worry too. She has never been a party girl (at least not to my knowledge!) but I don't think she could do as well in school as she has if she was. I know they are all really intelligent girls and better yet are street smart from living in the city, but still... it's hard not to worry! Also, after such a stressful semester I'm sure they all want to be a little wild. I do think they are going to be at the pool a lot. I think a week is way too long to spend there. And she has no money to gamble, well, she has a little savings. Let's hope she still does in a week. Oh well... it will be okay I tell myself as I bring out the rosary beads.
. All my other kiddos just get mad at the affront and try twice and hard, which isn't very wise if it is, say, the drawer that keeps smooshing your fingers (I'm looking at you, Holly!).
I told DD we don't have the money to pay for that and she said the girl's parents are covering it. Then I said what about meals? She said they are going to go to the grocery store and stock up. Well, she is used to living on a very meager budget so I guess it will be okay. They all just turned 21... so that's my worry too. She has never been a party girl (at least not to my knowledge!) but I don't think she could do as well in school as she has if she was. I know they are all really intelligent girls and better yet are street smart from living in the city, but still... it's hard not to worry! Also, after such a stressful semester I'm sure they all want to be a little wild. I do think they are going to be at the pool a lot. I think a week is way too long to spend there. And she has no money to gamble, well, she has a little savings. Let's hope she still does in a week. 
Oh well... it will be okay I tell myself as I bring out the rosary beads. 
