Big Steps - Current Update

 

So it's been a while since I've provided you with an update on the whole Weight Watchers thing. I signed up on May 13th and as of June 24th, I've lost....drum roll please.....three pounds! HA! I will be honest, I started out super motivated. I packed a sensible lunch every day, took healthy snacks and really paid attention to my points. Then the Memorial Day weekend hit and I lost all sight of the diet. I was happy that I only gained one pound, and I lost it within the week back, but I've been up and down every since.

 

I'm hovering around the same number but the clothes in my closet, that haven't fit since before McKinley, finally do and that makes me super happy. I do need to get refocused though as I have an event coming up at the end of July and I want my dress, that fits now, to fit like a dream in a month! Plus, as I look at my 40 Before the Big 4-0 list, I have numbers 13 and 14 as get back in the gym and lose my remaining baby weight respectively. Based on the whopping three pounds I've lost, I have eight more to go, but in reality I could stand to lose another 10! I would like to lose 15 pounds, but 10 would be nice!

 

I'm not quite sure how to get remotivated! If I needed to be in a bikini for a photo shoot next month, that would really get my butt off the couch! In reality, I simply have "the dress". I've been talking up a trip to LA for my 40th birthday, which is a mere five months away. If that were to really take shape, I'm pretty sure I could find my way back to those regulated points and watch that scale move down the mountain. I will keep you posted on that!

 

I can say that my mom thinks I've lost weight based on the fact that my face looks thinner. And let me tell you, if my mom says I look thinner, then that's no lie! She is my worst critic. I'm not sure I can tell if I look thinner, but like I stated previously, clothes don't lie in the weight department! If they are fitting like they should, and looser than a month ago, I say I'm doing something right!

 

Check back next month for a progress report!

Working Mama

Has anyone ever noticed that most children activities take place during the day? Music or art class? Morning times. Swimming lessons? Anytime before noon. Sports practice? Right after school. So, how is a mom, who works outside the home, supposed to get her kids to said activities? Well, this mama is trying to make it happen so that her son knows that he is her number one priority.

 

Swimming lessons started for us this morning. It's a Parent/Tot class which is designed to acclimate him to the water. The lesson is every morning from 11:00-11:30 for about two weeks which is perfect. I use my lunch hour, and a little extra for drive time, to make sure I am there with him. But, what if I didn't have job that was as flexible? I would be expected to either 1) take vacation or 2) not sign him for swimming lessons. I understand that some pools offer evening lessons, but they don't offer the Parent/Tot class. So again, it's back to daytime summer activities.

 

There are so many other things I would like to sign McKinley up for but my schedule isn't as flexible as taking lunch to attend swimming lessons. I would love to sign him up for music lessons, but most take place around 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning. Sure, my parents could take him, but I want to take him. I selfishly want to be that woman that can do it all. I can work full-time, sign my child up for classes that I think he could benefit from, take him to said class, be social with other mothers and get to know the teachers. I really don't think that's too much to ask for, do you?

 

Also, I want to instill in McKinley that work isn't important, that it will never come before him, and that again he is my top priority. I never want him to say "Mama couldn't go because she had to go to work." I would die! Now, if I worked for myself, I could easily do all of these things and still provide for the family. A goal that I am working on for the coming year. Until then, it's adjusting my schedule to ensure we continue our play dates all year long. Take a look below at his first day of swimming lessons! Adorable!

 



 

I love this little guy!!

Medicine Man

Medicine. We are a family who rarely takes medicine. An Advil here and there for fever, joint pain or headaches. Joel takes a cholesterol pill and I take one to prevent a second baby! But that's it. We have other members of the family who take a pill to get out of bed in the morning. To go to bed at night. Or for anything that might happen throughout the day. And because of this, I think that's why we have such an aversion to taking any forms of medicine.

 

We very rarely give any medicine to McKinley. Children's Tylenol before shots on his well visits, antibiotics for the ear infections he has battled and children's Allegra as of this past allergy season. That's it. That's all the kid gets. So you can imagine my internal conflict in giving McKinley medicine when I'm not sure it's really needed. Currently, he is cutting his two year molars and from time to time he will say "Mouth hurt. Mama kiss it." Side note, I love that he now asks me to kiss his boo-boos! He's fussy, agitated, constantly chewing on his fingers or us, and unwilling to eat. My midwife suggesting giving him ibuprofen for the pain. And I asked myself, should I?

 

After much internal debate, I decided we should give him some children's Advil. So, on Sunday morning among cries, we dropped a dose of liquid medicine into his mouth and a couple of hours later he was a different baby boy. The baby boy I remembered before teething. We had planned to give home some Sunday evening before bed, but he feel asleep earlier than planned and woke up in the middle of the night crying and asking mama to kiss it. I guess the medicine had worked earlier in the day. Too bad we missed a dose that night. We asked my parents to do the same thing Monday morning and we were able to give him some Monday night. Totally different baby. Why had I waited so long to help him?

 

I know that Advil isn't going to make him groggy, give him medicine head or make him lethargic. I just don't want to get him, or us, dependent on medicine to cure what ails him. Yes, I've heard that cutting two year molars is incredibly painful, and if I can relieve that pain for a bit, I will. I just don't want to give him something when he doesn't need it. Like when friends suggest that we give him Benadryl when we fly next month. Not going to happen! He's never had it so we don't know what kind of reaction he will have to it and imagine it mid flight! I personally can't take anything like that over the counter. It makes me horribly sick. What if that happened to him?

 

I feel like, even in the adult world, we are so quick to take something. We are so quick to diagnose things. What if it's just a common cold? What if it was something you ate? What if it's a headache induced by too many bobby pins? (I have one of those now, actually.) Advil or Tylenol isn't going to help. Running it's course, or taking my hair out of this bun, is the best medicine. And I'm not suggesting that there aren't actual reasons for medication. I'm just saying that for the every day, run of the mill type symptoms, this mom is going to stray from loading up her son with meds.

 

What are your thoughts on giving your child medication? For it? Against it? Do whatever is necessary?

Test Kitchen

Lately, I have been baking up a storm! It all started it when I discovered Cupcake Wars on the Food Network and now I can't stop making cupcakes of my own! I've dabbled in several different flavors but this last month has been out of control! Here are just a few of the things I've been concocting in my "test kitchen" on 97th Street!

My version of a Hostess Cupcake! A chocolate cream filled cupcake topped with chocolate ganache!

 

 

A sweet packaging idea...

 

 

 A Strawberry Lemonade cupcake. Strawberry cake with lemonade concentrate and buttercream frosting tented in both pink and yellow. I love how the swirled colors turned out! They are topped with a sweet and sour Twizzler straw. 

What summer isn't complete without a Dreamsicle! My verion in a cupcake. Orange cake with a coconut cream filing topped with orange buttercream.

 

 More flavors to come!

All photos courtesy of Richard Lawson.

A Bad Day

Saturday, by normal standards, is the best day of the week. You don't have to set the alarm. You don't really have a set schedule to follow, unless you've planned it that way. You can be as lazy or as productive as you want. For me, it is the most irresponsible day of the week! Our Saturday started out fairly well. McKinley woke up about normal time, we played most of the morning, tried to have breakfast (he's not a great eater), and eventually got dressed to start the day. That's where the trouble started!

 

While Joel and McKinley tried to eat/finish up breakfast, I snuck off to shower. Once dressed, I got McKinley's clothes ready and asked him if he was ready to come upstairs and change clothes. The response I received was a very unfavorable. It sounded a little something like this, "NNNNNNOOOOOOOOO" but in a shrill, back of his throat kind of scream. This has been his response to most anything these days. McKinley, we need to change your diaper. See previous response. McKinley, let's go get a bath. See previous response. McKinley, let's get ready to go inside for dinner. See previous response. McKinley, please stop biting me..... You get the picture.

 

Eventually, I got McKinley dressed and let me tell you, he was adorable!! Adorable! I was so ready to get him out and show him off. Joel was going to do some prep work on the outside of the house to get it ready to paint. McKinley and I were going to go Father's Day shopping and run a couple of errands that I haven't been able to accomplish in weeks! That's when the storm hit. As soon as Joel left, I started gathering up all the necessary items to leave home. Diaper bag, diapers, container full of wipes, an extra outfit just in case, a few snacks and all of my essentials. As I headed upstairs to get wipes, a full on melt down began with tears, screams of "bye bye", McKinley scrambling up the stairs to find me only to find me at the top of the stairs. We sit down to put on McKinley's shoes and successfully get one shoe on before he squirms off my lap and starts heading for the living room. Now, I'm not one to play games when getting ready. I'm not going to chace him so I head up stairs to use the restroom one more time before we leave. Again, full on melt down with tears, screams of "bye bye" and him scrambling up the stairs to find me in the bathroom.

 

At this point, I am not taking him anywhere. Not only do I not want him around other people, I don't really want to be around him either. No offense kid, but mama is not a fan of this behavior. So, we head downstairs to wait it out. It only gets worse, so he has to sit on the rug. Remember, sitting on the rug is our "time out". So after rug time, and I sorry mama, we try it again. Full on melt down! Now after lap time and watching the Berenstain Bears, little one is out for a nap. Great! Not only is he taking a nap, which is clearly what he needed, but now I'm stuck at home with errands that won't get run and Father's Day gifts that won't be purchased.

 

What does one do now? I take off the errand running clothes I was in and put on working around the house clothes because this mama ain't going anywhere. And then I start to fume. Why is it that I never get to go anywhere and Joel goes wherever he wants? Because I feel that I need to take McKinley with me everywhere I go and he just goes. My issue isn't with him, it's with me. I don't take the attitude of, "Hey Joel, you stay here while I run around and do my own thing while you watch McKinley." To me, that's being selfish because I don't really need my time. My time is McKinley's time. But the more I thought about it, the madder I got. (Subsequently, that's when I do my best cleaning.)

 

The day just went downhill from there. After his nap, he was still pretty angry. He was dying to go outside and swing so I let him. Joel pushed the swing while I went back in the house to make lunch. I served it up on McKinley's little picnic table only to be met with...you guessed it, see previous response. Joel suggested he eat at the patio table so I made Joel lunch too. There they sat, Joel eating his lunch, McKinley constantly yelling down. I love when he throws a fit outside for all the neighbors to hear. Feel like excellent parents at that moment. Joel calmly finished his lunch, brought in McKinley, and his uneaten lunch, and made him sit on the rug. And sat on the rug he did. For most of the afternoon. I did most of the disciplining that day and by night fall, he wasn't speaking to me.

 

This is when you start to compare your parenting skills to others around you. I see photos on Facebook of my friends and their children who are roughly McKinley's age. They are smiling, laughing, eating in any scenario and eating foods that are actually nutritious. I see them looking happy and healthy and I think about my non-eating, screaming son who sat on the rug for most of Saturday. What am I doing wrong? Am I being too hard on him for lashing out at us when we make him do something he doesn't want to do? This is going to happen his entire life. He is going to do things that aren't right and I can't turn my back everytime he gets mad that I don't let him get his way. I have to note, we give McKinley a warning before we put him on the rug or take a toy away. We explain what he did was wrong and if he does it again, then the consequence is either sit on the rug or the toy is gone for the day.

 On Sunday morning I was armed with a new day. It had to be better than the day before, right? I sat on McKinley's bed and asked him if he was still mad at mama. He looked up at me with those chocolate brown eyes and said, "Mama sit on de rug." I told him he didn't have to sit on the rug right now and that yes, he did have to sit on the rug yesterday. At that moment, my heart was breaking. All he remembered was that mama made him sit on the rug the day before. He didn't remember that on Friday we spent the entire day together, playing, baking and sitting on a bench outside Red Robin while sharing a milkshake. No, those memories didn't stick. The sitting on the rug moments did.

 

We headed to the zoo on Sunday morning and spent the day as a family. It turned out to be the day I needed to make up for the day before. What I'm hoping is that he's remember the good, and the bad, and that the good will always out weigh anything else.

 

 

A Summer Drink - Cupcake Style

Early last Monday morning I woke up with two thoughts: 1) Could it be possible to extend our bedroom closet and 2) strawberry lemon cupcakes sounded amazing. Turns out the extension isn't possible but the cupcakes were! I haven't a clue where the idea came from, but so glad it came to me!

 

I immediately ran to the store for the necessities and came home to resume my vision!

 

I am a firm believer that presentation is key! You may not notice as you dig into the yummy desserts but I used yellow and pink papers to keep with the theme of strawberries and lemons!

Homemade buttercream icing was tented in pink and yellow.



And by accident, this darling last cupcake got a swirl of both colors. I didn't have enough pink to finish so I added the yellow, since it was just us eating them, and it's total perfection! The next round will all be swirled!

 



Finally, what strawberry lemonade isn't complete without a straw? These little guys are topped with Sweet and Sour Twizzlers. I can't say enough about the toppers. The leftovers lasted less than 24 hours!

 



 

I haven't ever been so proud of a cupcake! I don't know what it was about these, but I loved everything about them. And the family's response was unanimous! This is a cupcake to keep in the repertoire!



40 Before 40 - The Garden

On the list of Forty Before the Big 4-0, number 38 was to build a garden. And build a garden we did! Please stick with me as this is a rather long post. I take you from before to after and everything in between!

 

  

This was the space that I wanted to transform. There was an incredibly ugly ground cover that used to reside here, but it was removed before I could get a photograph. So glad to see it gone!! From there, Joel worked to rid the area of all the rock and stones. All we had left was nothing but fresh dirt!

Here the men are working to get the ground ready. We leveled off the area for a nice flat surface and from there the building began!

 

I did lift the shovel several times in order to help, but apparently I wasn't doing it correctly, as it was taken away from me as soon as I started digging! Joel and my dad dug trenches to bury the stones for terraces.

 

And McKinley was an amazing supervisor during the whole process!

 

The terrace is taking shape!

 

 

We now have completed terraces and raised beds! I put the beds together! I finally felt useful!

 

 

Time to start adding the dirt! I purchased organic top soil. I'm trying to be healthy and I don't want just anything going into our garden.



 

And McKinley continued to help! I love that he wanted to help us rake. This is exactly why I wanted to plant this garden! I want him to know the importance about taking care of our Earth!

 

 

And the planting has begun! I did a mix of plants and seeds. A friend of the family gave us eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. From seeds, I planted carrots, lettuce, radishes, green beans, fennel, scallions and onions. 

 

And the finished product is below! Complete with mulch, a large pot of herbs, flowers and tons of love!!

 

 

 

I have loved the entire process of building this small garden. McKinley helps me water and wants to touch the plants. He calls it the "gargen" and I love watching him walking around and talking to us about the vegetables that are growing. I can't wait to start pulling the fully grown veggies, with McKinley's help, in hopes that he will want to eat what he's picked!

 

I can officially say that  number 38 is complete! Can't wait to blog about our bounty!