Potpourri

Isn't that one of the mix-match categories on Jeopardy?  This is going to be a random post, just so I can feel caught up!

First, an update on my dad.  I've had a lot of friends asking what is going on with him.  My dad had surgery last Tuesday on his jaws; a surgery that was long coming and much needed.  He will have his mouth wired shut for FOUR weeks!  Can you imagine?  Well, after the surgery he was having a lot of trouble with his oxygen level, and after many tests, it was found he had a pulmonary embolism.  So, finally, after an extra four days in the hospital, things were looking well enough to release him.  He has one week down, and three more to go...  We love you, Dad {Beepa!}  

Next....Biggest Loser.  {This is info for you, mom...}   Thanks to Amy, I got enough motivation in April to start using My Fitness Pal.  The website and app allow me to log in my food and exercise to see my calories in and out, and I was getting my eating under control.  It was a huge eye opener for me to see my portion sizes, so I started using smaller bowls and plates as one way to control my calories.  Jarrod is exercising a lot more, and that was motivation for me, too, to start working out again on a regular basis.  Sadly, my shin still hurts if I do too much, so I haven't been able to run as much as I'd like, but I've been doing Insanity and 30 Day Shred DVDs and hand weights at home.  This weekend, I started using a heart rate monitor as well to better calculate my calories burned during my exercises.  Two weeks ago, I joined my Tastefully Simple team in an 8 week Biggest Loser competition.  I thought it would be the perfect kick in the butt to keep me on track to lose the weight I wanted to lose before Megan's wedding.  It's perfect for me, because I have to PAY each week if I gain weight!  I did great the first week....not so great this week.  Tomorrow is the weigh-in day, and it's looking like I'll owe a dollar or two (it's a dollar per pound) so it's my motivation to be good today.  My big concern is that I'm going to gain weight when I stop nursing Riley in the next month or so.  As a breastfeeding mom, I get some extra calories each day, so I'm going to have to be even more strict when she's not nursing anymore.  Yikes!

And lastly, I've been asked what we're doing about Riley's birthday party.  We weren't going to do a big thing, but then I started to feel a little guilty about not having the same type of pictures for her memory book, so I decided to just pick a theme and go with it.  We're just inviting a small group of our closest friends that are around Riley the most, and thanks to Big Day Invitations, we'll be having a Pink Ladybug party!  I cannot believe our baby girl is turning ONE!  We were just cleaning out the baby toys to store away and make room for new ones, and it was such a smack in the face....we don't have a BABY in our house anymore.  :(  

Alright...I have more to write about, but this has gotten long enough and the kids are finished with breakfast.  That's my sign that our day is ready to begin!  Busy busy day ahead...and I have two pounds to lose! :)

Photo-a-Day

I found on Pinterest a Photo-a-Day idea for July and decided to try it....I realize I should have mentioned this earlier in case anyone else wanted to give it a shot, but if you're still interested in jumping in 9 days late, you can find the info here: http://fatmumslim.com.au/photo-a-day-july/

I really have a LOT to blog about, but for now....let me get caught up on this.

Day 1: Self Portrait

Day 2: Busy

Day 3: Best part of your day

Day 4: Fun

Day 5: On the floor

Day 6: Chair

Day 7: Garden

Day 8: Lunch

 

And a few thoughts....
{Day 2} Is dinner time the busiest part of everyone's day???  Seriously, it's the most tiring part of being a SAHM!
{Day 3} Really, there are many parts of my day that are much better than what that picture shows, but it is the best way to start my day...coffee and blogging are my favorite ways to wake up.
{Day 7} That's our failed attempt to grow a potato plant.  I really suck at growing things.
{Day 8} Confession:  That's our dinner...but yesterday, we didn't really eat lunch, so I snapped a photo of the yummy grilled pizza we made for dinner. 

Sleep Training

A few friends have asked how sleep training went last week, so I thought I'd update here.  It really went awesome!  I started out saying that 5 minutes would be my initial check-in; if she cried for 5 minutes, I'd go in to reassure her I was still here, rub her back, and then leave, slowly increasing the amount of time between checks, just like the Ferber method suggests.  Well, Thursday night, she woke up a total of 8 times, and only once did she make it to the 5 minute mark.  The other times, she laid back down and fell back asleep on her own....but around 4:30 she was still crying, and I decided at that point to go ahead and nurse her, which was against my initial plan, but that was ok with me.  Since then, every night has been the same.  If she wakes up, she puts herself back to sleep, and then around 4-5am, she's up, I nurse her for a few minutes, and then she's back asleep until somewhere between 6 and 7.  There was one night just recently that she woke up around 1, cried for a few minutes, then calmed down and was quiet.  Well, she had woke Jarrod up, and since she was quiet, he assumed she was back to sleep and he went in to check on her.  She, in fact, wasn't asleep, and he picked her up and brought her in to me.  Silly boy.  I just took her right back in, laid her down, and she cried for a few minutes, then fell asleep.  So, sleep training was a huge success...instead of being up every couple of hours, I'm getting much better sleep and so is Riley.  I know sleep begets sleep, and this week, she's been back to taking two naps, which is slightly annoying and throwing off my days, but we'll deal with it for now. I'm just glad she's sleeping!  Now, we'll work in a few weeks to eliminate the 4-5am feeding as we wean her completely and transition her to milk! Yikes...my baby girl is almost ONE!

Wordless Wednesday

Pasketti!

Riley had her first experience with spaghetti last week.

 Needless to say....she loved it!

Spaghetti is usually a HUGE mess with Gavin, so I expected a mess with Riley....but then again, every meal is a huge mess with Riley.  And I was right....spaghetti everywhere!

But isn't she cute all covered in spaghetti?