Summer is just perfect right now: Meals on the patio, short sleeves everywhere, windows open at night. For a short spell, I'm happy with the thought that I don't need four seasons - I could just live like this.

However, my maintenance is slipping with the good weather. Perhaps I need shoveling snow to stay the path. It's a bit easy to sit on my patio with a good book savoring the moment instead of being out burning calories.

Good morning! We had a beautiful summer weekend - great start to "official" summer. The days are just right up at my house but a bit cool still for work down at the lake. I am wearing shorts, t shirt and a jacket down there. Still it's nice to be outside at home on the patio without a coat.

This is my final week for my online course in human behavioural genetics. DH wants to start studying Spanish right after it ends but I'm going to ask that I have the rest of the summer "off" from that. I want to enjoy my weekends from now until September.

I had a moment of clarity re Cuba. I'm planning a trip which I would be able to do in the fall, when I traditionally go on vacation by myself. But going to Cuba in February means I will be exhausted by the winter. So I've decided on a nice compromise. We will take the red-eye to a resort and, now that I have the Cuban bus schedule (Google is a great thing!), I can bus to Havana when I get too bored laying around.

Good week all!

Dagmar

Good morning! Today is day 1 of me being 100% on plan and working to lose this pregnancy weight. I think I am done with my breast pump (at least, I've been down to 1x/day, and only pumped 2oz this morning, so I am planning to not pump anymore, but if it gets too uncomfortable I might have to). I signed up to do a 12-week program called MuTu which is designed for moms with diastasis recti from pregnancy. It's mostly an exercise program, but has a food section that basically boils down to the Michael Pollan approach -- eat whole foods, mostly plants. I posted more details about it in the other thread but it's basically daily core exercises and walks, and 4 HIIT workouts per week.

I'm not counting my calories yet. I'm going to try to just prepare myself healthier foods that are more volumetricized. Does anyone else feel like the further into maintenance you get the more you are just combining bits and pieces of various diet programs?

In other news, C is sick. We're taking her in to the doctor in a couple hours after her morning nap. Hopefully it is just a respiratory virus or something -- she started with a kind of wet-sounding cough only during mealtimes yesterday, then last night was coughing some during the night and this morning when she gets agitated her breathing sounds raspy and makes a funny honking sound sometimes. My worst-case scenario brain is thinking "omg she has pneumonia and is going to have to be hospitalized and intubated and she's going to die" but my rational brain says it's probably just a cough and she'll be fine in a couple days. A seems to be unaffected. C is acting fine other than being a little fussy and has no fever.

Jessica~yes, I always feel as if I'm combining the best of every diet I've ever tried. And C sounds like whooping cough (that honking noise gives it away). DS had it when he was about a year old. Not so bad that he had to be hospitalized but he did have to have meds. They say that when the cough gets bad to take them into your smallest bathroom and turn on the shower to hot to steam it up and then sit there and breathe the steam in. Good luck.

Good luck with C! Whooping cough is going around. I would assume that A will probably catch it. Hopefully not though.

Gosh, I hope it's not whooping cough! They have been vaccinated, though I know it's not 100% effective. It doesn't sound like the youtube clips of whooping cough though so maybe it's something else. I guess I'll find out soon as our dr appointment is in 45 mins. Hopefully she will wake up from her nap in time.

Well, the good news is it's not whooping cough! C has croup. The doctor gave us a prescription for a steroid to help with the inflammation of her airway so she will be able to breathe better. A doesn't have it yet but I wouldn't be surprised if she gets it very soon.

May the croup be gone very soon, paperclippy!

Add me to the "summer bulking season" group. I went camping and lazy river tubing all weekend and ate so much I was 119.8 this morning after a sweaty 5K run. 116.8 Friday morning.

Jessica, as soon as I read honking I figured it was croup. My DD got it quite a bit even up to 4 years old or so. It seems like some kids are just prone to it, sounds awful and scary!

I got back from the four day trip and managed to stay at the same weight. The food wasn't that good until the last night. I leave Thursday for CA! I don't know how I will stand it without a scale for a month. May have to buy one.

Croup! That was the word I was searching for this morning! Not whooping cough! But then I have to admit that it was before 6 am and I had not yet had my coffee. Jessica~glad it is "just" croup but even croup can be scary with that honking noise.

Been there, once. Not fun at all! Sounds like you jumped on it quick, which should reduce the misery for everyone. Poor baby! (I mean all of you!)

Well...I have been able to maintain my weight at 136-139 lb for 1 full month now and it has been a tough time.
I am able to keep my calorie count to approx 1400 to 1600/day.
That is with no snacks,no sugars and no seconds
I do not eat after 6:30 pm and am in bed by 10pm.
It has been a disciplined time but worth it because I have not gained.
I have rheumatoid arthritis and find it hard to exercise because of my feet.
Now that I have lost weight I think I will join the Y and swim for exercise because of the RA that is the best exercise without putting strain on my joints.
I have been following all the chicks here and cheering them on their eternal weight control.
Keep it up girls.

Ah, the croup. My "baby" is 30 years old, and I can still remember when she had the croup. She woke us up out of a sound sleep around 1:00 am with that scary honking sound. My other kid, DS, never had it so I had no idea. My DH took DD to the ER, but by the time he got there she wasn't coughing anymore. The humidity where we were living took care of it. No meds as I recall, just told to take her into the bathroom and run hot water. Luckily, it didn't last long.

As a first-time parent, you'll be running to the dr. or urgent care for all sorts of things--wait until they stuff something up their noses that you can't get out. Both my kids did that when they were about two or so. DS stuffed a vitamin C up his nose (that hurt as it started to melt and hit the mucous membranes), and DD went the more "normal" route with small rocks.

That's great on one month! It does sound like you had to be very disciplined. Swimming would be great for you! I hope you can join soon.

Welcome apo9! Congrats on 1 month!

C seems a little better this morning. A still is fine. Hopefully this will be a short-lived problem. Meanwhile, we took them to the dentist and apparently they are about to pop out some molars and some more teeth!