You May Not See Me For Awhile

April 30, 2010 8 Comments

Yesterday, a milestone was reached.

Hubby and I became the proud owners of our first Smart-phones.

It was hard to focus on anything the rest of the afternoon.Â There was too much to do: sync email, set up Facebook and Twitter apps, link my Facebook contacts with my phone contacts, choose what theme my phone should have, practice sending text messages . . . I spent HOURS playing with my new phone.

Of course, I had to take pictures:

But, don’t worry — the vehicle was completely stopped for the picture taking session. I read the little pamphlet that came with my phone on Phone/Vehicle Safety. No phone usage until it is safe to do so. Cross my heart.

Sigh.

Thank you Mr. Lucas and HTC. I’m in love with a Droid — a thing currently cooler than Hubby.

(Don’t feel sorry for Hubby — he thinks the Droid is cooler than me. We’re nerds like that.)

Hosted by Cecilyand Caitlin

Introducing Me: A Master Husband Trainer

April 29, 2010 10 Comments

When Hubby and I were married, he was green. And, no — not the kind of green that’s all hip and all about conservation of resources. (If only).

No, he was the kind of green guy who thought a wedding ring made all of dating’s polite pretenses and manners obsolete. No longer did he have to worry about table manners. Or complimenting every single thing I did. Or . . .keeping bodily functions locked in the bathroom.

Unfortunately for him, I was (and am) the kind of girl who believes dating manners should never die and “tooting” should never happen in front of me.

Two years, my friends.

That’s how long it took to train my husband — my stubborn husband.

What did I accomplish?

He eats slowly and no longer fills his plate five times (so embarrassing when you’re at an all you can eat buffet).

He understands the importance of choosing a birthday card wisely; no more cards showing a dog about to lick himself (with the caption saying, “Do Whatever Makes Ya Feel Good.”). This was a very important lesson.

When a certain bodily function must pass (yes, pun intended), Hubby leaves the room. . . before the release! (this part of the training process took FOREVER. Ugh!)

IF he is not able to leave the room before “tooting,” he simply says, “Excuse me.” No more “DID YOU HEAR THAT” or “WOW! WHAT DID I EAT?“. Nope, those phrases are a thing of the past.

He eats whatever I prepare for meals . . . without complaint. I am not a short-order cook; if he doesn’t like what I made or wanted something else, Hubby keeps that info to himself. (Luckily, I’m a pretty good home-chef)

He no longer looks like this:

'Nuff Said.

No matter what my mom asks (or tells) him to do, Hubby jumps right to it. . . and he LIKES it. No mother-in-law fights or grumbles from this boy.

Laundry. I *hate* doing laundry. Guess who has learned to love doing it?

Before you gasp at those last two, yes, I know I’m high-maintenance. But, believe me, Hubby and I both know I’m worth it.

(Of course, now that we have kids, new battles have arisen. Like his addition to potty-training. Now, each time the Little Lady flushes anything “number-two” related, she waves and cheerfully says, “Bye, T-sips!” If you are a Texas A&M fan, you know what that means . . . and understand why it’s a little less than couth.)

Semi Wordless Wednesday: Don’t MAKE Me Say It Again

April 27, 2010 47 Comments

I DON’T want my picture taken!!!!

Wanna link up your own Wordless Wednesday post? Click below!

So THIS Is What It Feels Like

April 27, 2010 9 Comments

This past weekend, I experienced the “Mommy” equivalent of winning the lottery.

My inlaws took the kids for the weekend.

(cue Angels playing their harps)

Thursday, when they arrived, I was NOT happy about the idea of handing my kiddos off. Pretty ironic since the majority of my posts lately have all focused on the theme of “needing a break.”

I wanted and needed a break . . . just didn’t (really) want to say good-bye to the Little Lady and Mr. Boy.

What would it be like? How would I adjust to not holding someone all day long? What would I DO with myself and the quiet that comes when the kiddos are gone?

I was nervous. Worried. Anxious.

What if my Mother-in-law forgets to apply their sunscreen and they get burns? What if they forget to change Mr. Boy’s diaper? What if, while at the beach, they get so wrapped up in one child that they forget the other one . . . and the waves come. . . and knock my poor kidlet over. . . or, even worse, drag them out into the GULF????

Yeah, crazy. I know. But that horrible situation happened in my nightmares and THAT was what I thought about all Friday morning as I packed their bags.

As my In-laws drove away, burdened with the stroller, the pack-n-play, diapers, formula, snacks, toys, sunscreen, and every sippy cup to be found this side of Houston, I felt scared and naked.

Naked? Yup. Naked.

It was the first time in . . . good grief, I don’t know HOW LONG that I did NOT have a child in my arms.

You know what? They survived — as did I.

Even better than just surviving? I slept. Read a new book. Visited with friends. Slept some more. Held my husband’s hands.

24 hours into the baby-break, I felt like a new woman myself again. I had no idea how strung-out and exhausted I truly was until I had a moment to relax. Worry free. No schedule. No routine.

Me-time: it’s a beautiful thing.

(Of course, the moment my kidlets were home, I hugged and squeezed and loved on them. ‘Cause, yeah — I missed them. But, shhhhhh! Don’t tell them; I know they’ll conspire together and use that info against me!)

{Expectations}

April 27, 2010 5 Comments

Monday morning, I met with Pete Cohen, our “weightloss guru” from The United Kingdom.

I’ll be honest — I had absolutely NO idea what to expect from him. Yeah, I had read his emails, seen his tweets, and watched a few video segments on his website.

But, despite all of that, I really wasn’t sure who this guy was; there were just too many different Petes.

Energetic Pete.

Easy Pete.

Inquisitive Pete.

Introspective Pete.

Silly Pete.

Serious Pete.

Then, there was his Skype profile picture. (wow)

Ok, I’ll admit — I’m a shy, prudish kind of gal; the sight of a well-built man in his swimsuit . . . at the beach . . . was just a bit more than my puritanical mind could take.

Turns out, Pete Cohen is a completely normal, intelligent, relate-able guy who knows what he’s talking about.

(I should have known better — everyone else Leah has us working with is great!)

We left the hour long conversation with “Go Britannia” flags waving and an assignment for me: “think about expectations — the good and negative.”

Yeah, expectations — those silly little things that left me a bit wary about meeting Pete — are a problem for me. I tend to expect too much, too quickly; instead of being patient and enjoying the journey, I become frustrated if things move slowly or I’m not able to meet my goals on (what I consider to be) the perfect time-line.

It’s been the same over the the past 3 weeks; I’ve stressed over the numbers on the scale, worrying that I wouldn’t reach my goal by the end of Mamavation. Frustrated that I wasn’t seeing my numbers go down fast enough. Anxious to drop a dress size.

I was visiting the negative side of expectations.

As Pete explained, focusing and obsessing on numbers alone isn’t going to help me achieve what I want. I could find myself quitting, giving up, burning out. . . not finding any joy in this opportunity to change my life. And, honestly, what is the point of changing the way I live if I’m not going to enjoy the process? Who wants to be miserable? Not this mama!

If I don’t learn to relax and enjoy my new lifestyle, the chances of this lifestyle actually sticking are slim. So, this next week, as I continue sweating away and eating my 5 meals a day, I will be working on a different goal: having fun. Enjoying the crisp fresh flavors of my veggies and fruit. Laughing at myself as I attempt to follow Billy Blank’s erratic Taebo moves. Breathing deeply of the sweet spring air when I take my children for a walk.

If my weight drops by next Monday, well “woo hoo”. That’ll just be icing on my imaginary cake.

p.s. I finally reached 10,000 steps this past weekend! FINALLY!