Sunday, May 30, 2010

Cloth Diapers - 2 weeks in...

So, first off - cloth diapers are addicting!  Once you make the switch and get into the groove, you want to add to your stash and try different things out (well, I do at least).

We're two weeks in and doing great!  DH's even stuffed a diaper or two and voluntarily put it on Noah! What's even more surprising is that he changed a poopy diaper and actually rinsed it out instead of leaving it for me!! I'm floored!! And as if it couldn't get any better, I went to change him this AM and realized that he had cloth diaper on him when I didn't put one on him at the start of the night.  DH did it all by himself!  (Noah ended up in a disposable because all the cloth ones were in the wash).  So, needless to say, things are going well!  Daycare has even commented on how easy these diapers are!

Our stash is almost exclusively BumGenius 3.0 one sized diapers although I ordered two MonkeySnuggles one sized, three MonkeySnuggles fitteds, and a FuzziBunz one sized and am waiting for them to arrive.  Plus we have a few gDiapers floating around here with reusable and disposable inserts. I still need to get a cover for the fitted diapers and I hope to one day know how to knit well enough to knit a wool soaker or two for little man (basically wool covers which breath better than the waterproof ones do - great for summer time here at home to let his little bum get some air)

Half of the stash - the other half is in the wash or at daycare!
So, in case you're still not convinced that cloth diapering is easy and worth a shot think about this.  Aside from the obvious green benefits there's a cost benefit too to cloth.  Figure it this way (i'm calculating based on Noah's average right now)

We use 7 diapers a day (give or take 1 or 2) x 365 days a year = 2555 diapers a year! (yea, i realized the heft of that when I was walking a 10lb bag of diaper trash to the can every week!)

If I get my disposable diapers on sale they're about $.20 a piece.  So, 2555 x $.20 = $511 in diapers for the 1 year.  Multiply that by the 3 years he'll probably be in diapers and we're $1533 in diaper costs - for one kid!

For the stash I have now here's the run down:
12 BumGenius 3.0 one sized diapers @ $18 each = $216
2 MonkeySnuggles one sized @ $18 each = $36
3 MonkeySnuggles fitteds (seconds) @ $18 each = $54
1 FuzzyBunz @ $18.00 = $18
5 Hemp inserts for my gDiapers (which were all gifts) = $25

Grand Total = $349  for his life time in diapers (plus maybe hundred or so for replacement soakers etc down the road)! You can even do it cheaper than that with exclusively prefolds and covered or getting more used.  I went for the more expensive yet more convenient and more like a traditional diaper with the pocket diapers.

Not to mention the space in a landfill you save and the fact that I can use these for our second child and then sell the ones that are in good shape when we're done using them (yes, there's a market for used cloth diapers and it's not as gross as you think!). 

 I just wish I'd done this sooner! I can't believe how many disposables we've gone thru (at least 500 in his first 12 weeks) and how much that has cost us (over $150!).

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Dryer balls...

So, in our journey to cloth diapering I've learned that you shouldn't use fabric softeners and/or dryer sheets because it can stop your diapers (and your dish towels for that matter) from absorbing. So I was on the hunt for another way to keep my diapers nice and soft while not affecting their absorption.

Enter the dryer ball.  There were two options for dryer balls - the plastic PVC ones with nubbies all over them or all natural wool dryer balls.  Since the plastic ones can give off chemicals when heated I opted for the all natural version.  I searched around the web and found lots of options on etsy.com.  However, they were expensive - about $20 for three balls and you'd need 4-6 for a normal sized load of laundry I read.  Being the crafty (or wanna be crafty) gal that I am, I asked Mr. Google how to make my own wool dryer balls and voila - the Goodmama had a spectacular tutorial to guide me along!

I followed her instructions pretty closely and am very happy with the results.  You can see in the pictures below the balls ready for their first felting.  I actually ran them thru two hot washes and then dried them.  That got them felted up nice and tight.


The image below is the after the final felting before I started using them.  They're about the size of a softball, maybe a tad smaller.

I've been using them for a week now and have noticed a difference in my drying times.  Plus, my clothes are as just as soft and static free as if I was using dryer sheets.  With smaller loads you do notice the bumping of the balls as they tumble in the dryer but I just close the door to the laundry room and forget about it.

I used 100% wool yarn I found at Michaels (Lion brand) and one skein was $8.  I made 2 balls from one skein and still have a bunch left over (so much that I think I might get another ball or two out of it).  So, for $8 and a few hours of work I have 4 dryer balls (I of course wanted different colors so in reality I spent $24 on yarn - but I have enough to make many more balls or even a woolie soaker once I figure out how to knit!) 

So there you have it!  It's a definite worth while DIY project! Especially if you're a knitter already and have scraps avail!  Then you really get to use everything up and get your money's worth!

(i must mention of course the best way to dry your cloth diapers is on the line outside but as a working mom that's just not practical for us except for the weekends)

Friday, May 28, 2010

The Swagger Wagon

Okay, I stumbled upon this today during the blog hop and am dying laughing...seriously, falling-out-of-my-chair-on-the-floor-tears-in-my-eyes laughing...

Toyota really has something with this Swagger Wagon campaign...



Friday Follow and Summer Shape up Check in..

Good golly these Fridays keep coming faster and faster...I feel like I just wrote this post for last week! Anyways...two orders of business as usual - accountability and making new friends.

I like to be accountable first so here goes:

This week I tried a bunch of new things and they seem to be working! I did a mid week weigh in and couldn't believe my scale so I waited until boxing to use theirs (it has to be spot on right? they're weighing these guys to match them up with other fighters...it's all official and stuff..) and if my shoes do indeed weigh 3 lbs then my scale at home was right!

This week I added Yoga Burn on my off days plus I installed a calorie counting app on my iPod.  Between the boxing, the yoga burn, and the counting calories I'm making progress! I was actually able to get my wedding rings on!  I didn't leave them on because they were still uber tight but we're making progress!

This week I'm switching to Pilates instead of yoga burn - gotta keep things changing so the body doesn't adapt!

Stats for this week:
Week 1 - 142lbs
Week 2 - 138lbs - woohoo!
Week 4 - 140lbs - ouch...no excuses, I have a new workout regime and a new resolve for eating healthy...we should start seeing that number drop.
Week 6 - 139.5 - okay, .5 lbs!  I attribute that to the fact that i'm putting on muscle and muscle weighs more than fat right??:)
Week 7 - 137.5 - woohooo!  Now, we fluctuated a bit this week but as of this AM this is where I'm at!!
Week 8 - 135 - Hallelujah!  Real progress now! I don't expect it will continue at this rate but we'll see. 

Okay, on to making new friends!!!

There's a new Friday Follow on the block! Thanks to Ian, Harriet, and Tami we have an all new and improved Friday Follow! I'm excited to try it out! Maybe one day I'll even try for a host spot. For now I'm just a spectator!

friday-follow

I'm also participating in the same Follow Me Friday I did last week from from Trendy Tree House.



FollowMeFridays



Hello to all you new folks! I hope you find something here that you'll want to come back over and over again for! This blog was started to keep the fam up to date on my first pregnancy and has continued after my little Noah was born. Topics range from smitten momma ramblings to hard hitting pieces about 529 plans and the like (haha...hard hitting..maybe not but it's fun to dream that I could actually write something that could be considered hard hitting) and has a smattering of photography (of my little man of course) thrown in for fun.

Me? I'm an almost a 30 something (gah!) working mamma who would love to ditch her mortgage in order to stay home with little man but sadly bought when the housing market was at its peak and probably couldn't even break even in the sale. Some day I dream of leaving the corporate world to do something more creative - like photography or crocheting!:) But for now amuse myself with hobby photography and blogging.

Anywho...glad to e-meet you and I hope you leave a comment to let me know you stopped by!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

A little Sophie Action

Noah's starting to really play with his toys.  He's getting the hang of grabbing them (although it's still hit or miss most times). This morning I gave him Sophie in addition to the rings and as you can see he was hell bent on shoving both simultaneously into his little mouth, along with his fist:)




This all ended in tears and then he fell fast asleep...I guess shoving all of your toys into your mouth at once is kinda tiring!

Books...books...books...

During my elementary school days I was the queen of BOOK IT!.  Each month you'd have a goal to reach - be it number of books, number of pages, time spent reading etc...and when you reached it  (as verified by your parents of course) your teacher would give you a reading certificate that you could exchange for a personal pan pizza at PizzaHut!  It never hurts that pizza was involved but for me, while pizza was nice, I was jones'n for those stars for on my cool arse hologram pin! I think I filled four or five pins during my elementary school days. And I ALWAY wore it proudly on my jean jacket (along side my dinner plate sized Donnie Wahlberg pin).   I'm actually glad to see that the program still exists and I hope that it continues to exist when Noah is old enough to read.

For now, I want to instill in him the same love for reading that I had.  A generous gift from my co-workers enabled me to just about buy out Amazon and their book section! I grabbed a few of my all time favorites (Where the Wild things Are, Tiki Tiki Tembo, Ferdinand the bull) along with a few of the newer published books (Cloudy with a chance of meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh)


Photo Credit Amazon

What were some of your favorites growing up??

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Carrier comparison...

There are three major styles of  baby wearing apparatuses (can you call it an apparatus?) - the sling (Hotsling, Peanut Shell etc..), the wrap (Sleepy Wrap, Moby) and the baby carrier (Baby Bjorn, ERGO, LilleBaby).  Each seems to serve its own purpose and I've found that many momma's own two or more of these in various styles to serve different functions.  I've tried 4 different carriers that cover all three styles and definitely have my favorites.  Here's the run down:

HotSlings

This is the first one I tried when Noah was wee little.  We took a walk around the block about 10 days postpartum.  It fit tight because I still had a good deal of baby weight and I could never seem to get him situated where I was comfortable enough to take my hands off of him.  I always felt like he was goign to suffocate.  Come to find out, weeks later after I'd abandoned this anyways, there were a number of recalls on sling type carriers due to positional asphyxiation.  Gah...My need to have my hand supporting him wasn't just me being paranoid!

I don't want to write this one off yet.  But I am going to wait till he's a bit older to try it again.  I'm sure it's great for carrying kiddos like the one below and it was comfy to wear. However,  I was (and still am) worried that he's not strong enough to turn his head to breath if he gets turned wrong.



Moby
This was my second carrier.  It's a wrap style carrier and I love love love it! Noah loved it too!  I could fold him up in the fetal position and wrap him up against my chest where he loved to be.  This wrap would turn a fussy baby into putty and put him right to sleep.  This wrap was the only way I got anything done in those early weeks.  I'd drop him in it when i needed to clean or get groceries or even go for a quick walk around the block.

It does take a few tries to get the tie right and I did find myself readjusting the wrap on a regular basis but all in all I love it and will continue to use it.  I will say that now that he's bigger it puts a good deal of strain on my back because there's no real support.  So, I reserve this for around the house and when he's super fussy.  This isn't for long walks or extended pd's of time where you're standing/walking.



Kelty Wallaby
This was the first carrier I bought before Noah was even born.  I had visions of DH carrying him around in this (because lord knows he wouldn't be caught dead in the Moby).  We tried it a few times and it works well although I had concerns about Noah's hips.  He was so tiny and it splayed his legs out at a weird angle.  I couldn't imagine it was comfortable.

I did use it quite a bit to let him face out when I was too tired to wrap myself up (or it was too hot).  Now that i have my ERGO though, this gets little use.





Ergo Sport
This is our latest carrier.  It's also a "carrier" style like the Kelty with two huge differences.  This one positions Noah where his hips are rolled under him like he's sitting in a swing. Much easier on his back and hips.  And two it has a bib at the bottom that helps distribute the weight across my hips.  I feel like I'm wearing my backpacking pack.

There are a bunch of wonderful things about this carrier that makes me think it will be our go to carrier from now on.
- It has great support.  The hip belt distributes the weight perfectly.  I can walk for miles with him in this and feel little fatigue.
- The straps are super cushy and comfortable.
- It's quick and easy to get on, even once the baby is asleep. I can get him in and out without waking him.
- You can wear this a thousand different ways (It does front, hip, and back carry positions depending on the childs age).
- It switches from hubsy (6'3") to me (5'3") very easily
- It puts Noah is a very natural position so I know we're not doing any damage to his hips.

The one draw back is that it has no forward facing position for a baby that has good head control.  Noey like to face out sometimes and when he does I ahve to use the Moby or the Kelty.  This one doesn't work like that (i'm not ready to do the hip carry with him yet)


We got the sport version because it's made of a different material that was said to be good for summer time.  It also has a vent on the back to let air circulate.  I did buy the Heart to Heart insert because it was recommended for children under 4 months of age but ended up not using it.  The sport actually comes up high enough to support his head.  Perhaps if he was smaller then I'd need it.  I guess we'll see when we have our next baby:)


Overall I'm very happy with the choice to purchase the ERGO and I think it's safe to say it will be my last carrier purchase. Between it and the Moby I have all of my needs covered.  Besides, I think DH will hurt me if I buy one more of these things:) haha..

Sunday, May 23, 2010

3 months old!

So here we are - 3 months old!  My little Noey is growing up soo fast!  We did our monthly photo shoot this AM and I love love love that he's starting to be more responsive and actually smile when I ask him to (or rather coo and make funny high pitched noises until he smiles).

So, here's the recap:

- We're all getting more sleep!  He goes down around 7 or 8 and is up around 4am to eat then down again until 7 or 8 on most days (this is a relatively new development - normally he's up at 1am, 5am, 8am
- during the day he's eating 4 - 5 oz every 3-4 hours (we're up to 30-32oz a day!)
- he started daycare a few weeks ago and so far so good.  He seems to be thriving.
- he's figured out a few of his toys - if he bats long enough he gets them to flop and make noise.  It's pretty consistent now
- he smiles at everything - the walls, the drapes, other people (women especially - he has every woman in a 10 yard radius of him wrapped around his chubby little fingers almost instantly)
- he holds weight on his legs pretty well.  He'd rather be standing than anything these days. When he's on his back he's just kick kick kicking those little legs.
- still very much loves his baths and actually tolerates diaper changes pretty well.
- he's obsessed with his hands.  He plays with them, clasps them, stares at them and tries to fit both of them in his mouth at the same time.  Now and again he'll manage to get his thumb in but he'd rather just his fist.
- is in size 1 disposables although we're not using a ton as we've switched to cloth!
- he's on the tail end of his 0-3 month clothes and fits most of his 3 and 3-6 stuff.  I tend to size up on the pants due to the bulk of the cloth.

We didn't have a dr's appt for a well check up but did end up there for a sick visit (clogged tear duct) and found out that he's 13.5 lbs.  He soooo doesn't look like he weighs 13.5 lbs...




I calibrated my monitor and I'm not sure I like it...he looks green in all my pictures....I'm hoping he looks normal to everyone else.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Friday Follow and Summer Shape up Check in..

Gah! Again, here we are at Friday - I can't believe it!  My week did go a bit slower than normal but still was blazing fast!

Two orders of business today as usual - Friday Follow and my accountability check!  We'll be accoutable first (as always)...

I was down right sick this week! It all started with a very unpleasant incident at 3:00am on Saturday that I'm not going to get into and continued into a full blown cold - yuck!  The lack of energy, congestion, runny nose, and coughing kept me from going to boxing most of the week.  I did manage to get back there yesterday and even did some Jillian Michaels today (her 30 min Yoga Burn DVD is pretty good...I'm definitely feeling the burn..) but my success this week revolved around the fact that I'm counting calories...trying to be VERY careful about how much I'm taking in as compared to my output.  Fortunately for me I wasn't all that hungry anyways:)

Stats for this week:
Day 1 - 142lbs
Day 8 - 138lbs - woohoo!
Day 24 - 140lbs - ouch...no excuses, I have a new workout regime and a new resolve for eating healthy...we should start seeing that number drop.
Day 38 - 139.5 - okay, .5 lbs!  I attribute that to the fact that i'm putting on muscle and muscle weighs more than fat right??:)
Day 45 - 137.5 - woohooo!  Now, we fluctuated a bit this week but as of this AM this is where I'm at!!

I think next week I need to switch over to weeks instead of days....I'm having a hard time counting the days each time:)  I originally started on days because I was going to do the 30day shred...ya, we see how long tha lasted!  I'm still proud of myself for keeping with boxing though!  It's still totally fun which makes me want to go even more.

This week I'm adding as many evening walks as I can with Noah as well as either Yoga or 30 day shred on my non boxing days.  Let's see how that works!


Okay, all accounted for....on to fun things....this week I'm trying a different Friday follow group from the folks over at Trendy Treehouse (such a fun name)



FollowMeFridays



Hello to all you new folks! I hope you find something here that you'll want to come back over and over again for! This blog was started to keep the fam up to date on my first pregnancy and has continued after my little Noah was born. Topics range from smitten momma ramblings to hard hitting pieces about 529 plans and the like (haha...hard hitting..maybe not but it's fun to dream that I could actually write something that could be considered hard hitting) and has a smattering of photography (of my little man of course) thrown in for fun.

Me? I'm an almost 30 something working mamma who would love to ditch her mortgage in order to stay home with little man but sadly bought when the housing market was at its peak and probably couldn't even break even in the sale. Some day I dream of leaving the corporate world to do something more creative - like photography or crocheting!:) But for now amuse myself with hobby photography and blogging.

Anywho...glad to e-meet you and I hope you leave a comment to let me know you stopped by!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

A little afternoon photoshoot...

The lighting in the guest room was perfect the other night right before Noah's bath.  I tried a few pics with his cute little shirt on and then he told me he'd had it.  So, we waited until after his bath when he was happy again (he just loves loves loves his bath!)







Mr. Hippo wanted to pop in and say hello too!  You won't find any conventional rubber duckies here...we're all hippo!


Monday, May 17, 2010

♥Monkey Minute

I posted a few days ago about Mission Monkey - well, the blogging community has really taken a hold of the story and are rallying behind Michelle and her family and Ian over at The Daily Dose of Reality is leading the charge!  Today instead of the Monday minute they're doing the Monkey Minute and I thought I'd join in! 


Photobucket


Have you ever peed in the shower/bath/pool?
Um...who hasn't??  We were all children at one point in our lives:) Now that I'm older I've learned better habits

What is your biggest pet peeve?
Oh boy...that's a can of worms that we don't want to open today (or in a post designated for good vibes...not bitching...)

What's the story behind your blog title?
The blog was started when I found out I was pregnant with Noah.  At the time I didn't know he was a "he" or that his name would be Noah so I had to be generic. And since I lack the creativity to come up with something super cool and catchy , I went with a derivation of our last name. 

What is your definition of success?
Wow, hard question for a Monday morning.  I want to say that achieving the goal you set out to achieve would be success but there are times when that doesn't happen and you still can be deemed successful.  For me it's not black and white...there are a lot of "it depends".

If you were famous, what would you want to be famous for?
My photography  is the gut response.  Being a catalyst of change in the world is the thoughtful response.


Head over to Ian's blog to join in on the mission! 
 

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Crafty crafty...

I've seen these marble magnets on a variety of different blogs and thought, "hey, I can do that"...and I did! So happy with how they turned out! I need bigger magnets for the larger ones but the tiny ones work perfectly!

I've been trying out new crafty items to see what works, is easy and cost efficient in preparation for a big fundraiser later in the fall for Nothing but Nets (blog to come on that).

I found directions over at Not Martha - super easy project with super cute results....



Saturday, May 15, 2010

The diaper question...

Before Noah was born I went thru all my options for diapering.  I'd always liked the idea of cloth diapers because for every diaper I reused, that was another that was kept out of the landfill. However I just couldn't get over having to put poop into my washing machine and without a utility basin that's basically what I'd be doing.  So, when I found gDiapers I thought I'd struck gold!  The gDiaper is a hybrid system with biodegradable disposable inserts and the reusable outter shells (i've blogged about them here, here, and here).  I really like them because they were the best of both worlds. However, after using them for a while I've found that for the work involved I think I'm just as well off doing full cloth.  Don't get me wrong, I like my g's (once they fit Noah) but for poopy diapers I had to rinse out and then wash the liner anyways so why not just go full cloth and keep everything out of the landfill (plus I finally got over poop..)!

Off again I went to research what type of cloth I wanted.  I wanted something easy like a disposable so that hubs would buy in and that we could get our daycare to use.  Lucky for me cloth diapering has come a long way from the days of my parents!  There are a plethora of choices ranging from All-in-ones (AIOs) that have an outer shell and absorbent center all sewn together to traditional cloth diapers with covers, wool soakers, and the like.  Since I was looking for something simple the AIO's appealed to me a lot.  However, I read that they don't withstand the test of time because the waterproof outer cover wears out over time and you can't replace it.  Enter another hybrid called a pocket diaper!  It consists of a waterproof outer cover that has a pocket in it where a super absorbent soaker is inserted to catch the liquids and what not. 

Most cloth diapering mammas recommend a combination of systems depending on the situation (night time vs. day time, day care vs. home care etc...). However, since I'm just trying this out and haven't yet committed to all cloth diapering I settled on the bumgenius one size option for now.  It's a pocket diaper that has adjustable snaps that "grow" with the baby so you only have to buy one set of diapers (unlike other cloth options where the covers are sized). You do have to "stuff" them but you can adjust the absorbency by adding more soakers.




Today was our first day using them and everything went well - although I discovered that it's really nice to have a wet bag instead of using the sink to store the rinsed out but still not clean diapers - off to diapers.com I go!  They are a bit bulkier than the gDiaper and certainly more bulky than a disposable but nothing to the point where I'm putting him in a size up clothes to accommodate.

They absorb just as well as our disposables and don't leak either (and Noah's a heavy wetter!)  I was a little concerned that it kept his skin damp but I supposed that the lack of chemicals that you find in disposables out weigh that point.

I know I have a few followers that are debating right now so I wanted to put this out there.  The upfront cost of cloth seems huge but if you consider the number of disposables you go thru in a lifetime you'll save yourself a ton of cash in the long run!  You can also build your stash slowly...like I bought 3 to start with and just ordered 5 more to add to the stash. I'll mix g's, cloths, and disposables as necessary.  Ideally I'd be using cloth only but there are situations that disposables are just plain easier.  I want to get to the point where we're primarily cloth and only using a disposable in an emergency (or a very long car ride:) ). 

Anyways, I've gone on long enough. You can be sure I'll continue to talk about this as we get deeper into it.  As for the resources I found when looking I found some great info  here , here, and here during my search.



Friday, May 14, 2010

Mission Monkey...

As a mom, reading the story below makes my heart break over and over again.  Putting myself in her shoes and trying to imagine what she's feeling right now is difficult and I'm sure what I can imagine is only 1000000th the pain that she's feeling today.

Let's support our fellow mommy and blogger today (and every day until they kick this cancers butt!).  Go to mypixiedreams.com to read on and to leave your support - this momma and her family really need it now!

And if you want to help with the hospital bills that they're surely going to face, use the clicky below to donate to Monkey!






Mom's day present...

I'm double posting this one to my baby blog and my photography blog because they're actually related this time!  So, my mom has been talking about this one particular picture of Noah - one of my favorites too (so much so it's part of my header up there on Little Kloep) that I wanted to do something special for mom's day for her (because you can only buy your mom so much jewelry and mine's allergic to flowers).  So, I went out to BayPhoto and looked for a the best way to represent that photo for her (because printing and framing is so yesterday..:) ).

I ended up ordering one of their ThinWrap products with a metallic finish and I'm in LOVE!  So in love that I was anxious to give it to mom and totally forgot to take pictures of it...haha...they're now hanging over the mantel at her house in Pittsburgh - 4 hours away from where I am.

I ordered an 8x12 print that came wrapped and mounted on masonite board which made it super sturdy. Then they took a block of dense foam and attached it to the back so that when you hung it on the wall it stood off the wall by about .5 inches giving an even more awesome effect!  The print itself was metallic which is something new for me.  It's a very subtle sheen that when viewed at the right angle makes the image pop off the page.  It adds that extra dimension that makes the picture stunning (not that a photo of Noah wouldn't be stunning any way you presented it -this was just xtra stunning...haha).

I don't have pics of what I gave my mom (I'll have to take a few when we go home next) but I did pull a few from BayPhoto's site...

The top image is of the finishes.  We have the very bottom on there - metallic with a satin finish.  You can see the canvas and the satin finishes as well.  The bottom image is a view of the back - very well put together.



Anywho - I've not been asked by BayPhoto to review these, I just did it because I loved how everything turned out and thought others might find this useful!  I know we'll be trying other products from BayPhoto in the future and I'll feedback on those just as I did this one (but hopefully with some pics of the actual product!:) ).


Summer Shape Up Check in

So it's Friday again - we survived the first week of daycare and both mom and baby are still happy and sane!  In fact, the consistency has been great for Noah and he's sleeping better than ever (and now that I say that he's going to throw me for a loop I'm sure!).  And I'm actually getting work done for work which, in order to keep my job, is a necessity!

Time for an accountability check with the Summer Shape Up!

I've done well with boxing - it's fun enough that I want to go on a regular basis and the workouts are different and challenging every time!  I've managed to do the 3x a week that I wanted to so far and forsee that continuing.  It's tricky when we go out of town for the weekend and means I end up doing three days in a row which is tough but hey, whatever it takes right?

I also started to watch my calories more closely.  You can't lose weight unless you take in less than you burn but if you take in too little then your body enters starvation mode and it's completely counter productive so I've had to start watching.  So far so good....

Stats for this week:
Day 1 - 142lbs
Day 8 - 138lbs - woohoo!
Day 24 - 140lbs - ouch...no excuses, I have a new workout regime and a new resolve for eating healthy...we should start seeing that number drop.
Day 38 - 139.5 - okay, .5 lbs!  I attribute that to the fact that i'm putting on muscle and muscle weighs more than fat right??:)

My clothes are starting to fit better and I can feel my abs getting stronger.  I need to figure ot how to get a bit more cardio in there now...maybe on my off days a quick run or even fast walk will probably help -let's see if I can do that!


Monday, May 10, 2010

Daycare Day 1....

The day I've been dreading since I first found out we were expecting has finally arrived - the first day at daycare.  Dropping Noah off was torture…I made it to the car before the tears started and managed to gather myself enough to drive home.  However, walking into my office where his swing and bouncy seat were staring me in the face finished me off and I ended up curled up on the bed crying.  Macie (our Viszla) was soo upset that I was upset and didn't know what to do with me. I wanted to cuddle with her and all she wanted to do was lick my face and ears. I guess that's her way of saying, "It's okay mom.  It will all be okay."  Have I mentioned how much I love my dog??

I managed to make it thru the day with only a few more teary episodes (an hour of boxing did wonders as it had my endorphins pumping for most of the afternoon) and was ready and waiting by the front door when DH pulled up with little Noey in tow!  He seemed none worse for the wear and his daily report was wonderful.  He napped when he should have napped and ate like a champ at just the right times (guess we were on more of a schedule than I thought).  He did seem exhausted - guess there's lots going on at daycare.  So, we wrapped up his day with a quick walk, a nice bath, a bottle and some cuddle time (I just couldn't bear to put him in his crib even though he was fast asleep on my chest).  I finally put him down around 8:30 and he was out until 1am.

People say you don't know love until you have a child and all childless people think, "um ya...okay...that's crazy" (i know i did) but boy was I wrong.  I know I love my husband with all my heart and I don't want to diminish because without him I'd not be me.  But my love for Noah exceeds anything I ever thought was possible.  It's a different kind of love than what I feel for my husband.  Noah is my heart! Part of me out in the world and quite vulnerable.  This quote said it best:
Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.  ~Elizabeth Stone

So, here's to day 1 of daycare having come and gone and we're all still sane and happy and hoping that day 2 goes better!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

My First Mothers day, a birthday, and a baptism...

This weekend was quite a weekend in our house hold!  Not only did I get to celebrate my very first mothers day and turn 30, we also celebrated Noah's baptism!

Yes, we're a little nutz for trying to fit it all in but it was the perfect opportunity to have all the moms in one place for mothers day.  Our birthday was just a bonus (or rather curse I'd rather forget - the bug 3 OH!) Anywho...since there's no flash during the church service our brother in law had his work cut out for him with the pics.

Noah did okay during the baptism.  He was hungry and proceeded to snack on my shoulder the entire time we were up there (much to the amusement of the congregation).  He started to squawk until Pastor Paul held him up in the air - my son the attention seeker.  He immediatley stopped crying and started looking around (and then started crying again when he was handed back to me).




All in all it was a great weekend.  We spent lots of time with our families and enjoyed celebrating Noah.


Thursday, May 6, 2010

New Bloggy Badge...

Lookie over there ---> See it? Yes, thanks to new bestest friend Jenn @ South of Sheridan I have a new adorable bloggy button to share!!  Thanks so much Jenn for helping me put that together!!!:)

Life as art...

I don't usually talk about giveaways in my normal blog posts but this one is too good not to share!  Modern Bird Studios is using the power of viral marketing to get their art out there and these designs are fantastic!  So fantastic that I've entered every giveaway I see in hopes of winning one of these beauties!

From their website -
Modern Bird Studios creates personalized, modern art from your photographs. Each work is a one-of-a-kind, original studio piece created with a combination of digital, hand, and painting processes on an Oak composite. We take your photograph, and break it down into a two-color image, which results in abstract shapes that make up the form. We then choose two contrasting colors to create the painting. The result is a marriage between technology and traditional painting to create a totally hip urban-style art piece that enriches your home.

How cool is that??  And I have just the perfect picture!  Want one for yourself?  Go to Boutique Cafe to enter the giveaway..or better yet, don't - I want to increase my odds of winning:) (but do follow Modern Bird on twitter and fbook - they're hilarious!)

Cross your fingers for me please!

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