Busy

Julia is a baby wipes junkie. I can't stand the smell of them. It's like how she's a Kleenex Junkie too. All about getting the things out of the box.

For the short while that we used disposable wipes, it was Seventh Generation unscented ones and then cloth wipes or wash cloths. The ones at school are usually supermarket generics that just STINK of that "baby powder" scent.

I hate that smell. It makes me crazy. Mom lamented to me that Julai just "didn't smell like baby" because I was so anti-baby powder smells that I refused to buy anything smelling like it. Not wipes. Not soaps. Not lotions. Nothing!

But today she got a hold of a wipe at school and hasn't yet had a bath, so she reeks of it. Ugh. Ugh.

I didn't realize how busy it's been with doing swim in the morning and then school in the afternoon til I started to write and scrolled down to update from my last post. Very sporadic.

Julia completed her second session and we have a week break before she begins her third. Thankfully, I managed to get her into the Tues and Thurs evening session, so it won't be so frantic, and if Paul manages to take her to some of them, I can hit water aerobics. If not, at least it slows down the pace for me.

Mr V. keeps asking me when she turns three so he can pass her to "Level 1" since she seems ready/capable but she's not 3 til Jan so she's stuck in "Parent & Child" lessons until next summer. I just want her to have fun with it and learn some water skills, so waiting til next year is fine with me. At the same time, I'm really happy with how she's coming along -- lots of new things we want to show off to Daddy over the weekend when we can hit the pool as a family.

Got some weight workouts in and I've been food logging. I saw my RE and got a prescription for Glucophage again. Also agreed to go to a Weight Watchers meeting with my friend/boss. I don't know that WW is for me, but I agreed to go with her to her first meeting for the support. She's feeling anxious about it.

Me? All in all, maintaining decently. But I want to head into losing again. It's been enough of a break.

Party

This is something I don't mention much. It's also something I don't do much.... parties.

We had a kiddie birthday party to go to. One of Julia's little friends turned 4 and we went over to their house for a small gathering and water play.

Like I always do, I ate before I went.

Like I always do, I offered to bring a dish -- both to help the host and to ensure there's something vegan for me to eat. Lucky for me, the parents are vegetarian, and the food was ALL vegan. That doesn't happen often.

What also doesn't happen often? I felt relaxed, comfortable, socialized easily. I didn't feel the pang of social anxiety I feel at other gatherings. I didn't (and this is important) end up nibbling too much food just to keep anxiety at bay. You know.. that emotional eating thing?

Paul told me afterward he really had a nice time too -- no stress, everything very pleasant, etc.

So... what's different this time? Hanging out with people I truly enjoy who don't make me tense.

So... how do we make family gatherings this pleasant so there isn't tension for me?

Weights with company

I was getting through the usual shoulder, bi's and tri's routine when Julia woke up. We took a potty break, got some soy yogurt eaten, and then came back to finish up the workout together. The second half went a lot slower but it was very entertaining.


I ought to give working out in my shirt and panties with only one shoe on a try.

Catching Up

Great pix, Amy!

Things here are quiet this morning. I skipped Julia's swim lesson because I hated to wake her. She's had a rough week and we're all low on sleep.

Thursday we went out of town to see my nephew off. He flew back to South Dakota.

Friday I worked preschool alone, so I felt all crazy when I came home. Had I known I was going to be working it solo, I would have prepared a little better and gone in a little earlier to get myself settled.

Saturday my friend Monique showed up from Texas and I hadn't seen her in years... I gave her all of Julia's baby clothes that I hadn't already given Lara. Monique is closing in on 8 months and I long came to the realization that even if we do have another child, people are going to overwhelm us with STUFF. Saturday night I took a little snooze whiel Paul worked on his part of Sunday's sermon, and then when he went to bed I checked it over for him for spelling and grammar and then printed it out and got all our gear ready.

In the morning we took off and since I wasn't working nursery I got to hear the Father's Day service. Paul was the speaker for the "new" dad, and they had another man covering the middley bit with older kids and teens, and an older gentlemen covered empty nest/grandfatherhood. Sort of like reflections of paternal love.

Paul was anxious because the last time he had to address a crowd was his valec. speech in HS!

But he did well and towards the end he started getting emotional and teary and then Julia started hooting and hollering for her Daddy from a pew. People found this amusing.

Afterward we went to a teahouse for lunch with some new friends that we've been trying to get together with for a long time. It was pleasant and relaxing. Home for a nap, then up again to dine out. Paul craved California Pizza Kitchen and who was I to argue with the Dad? I wanted a pina colada and ordered a salad to keep the calories down but it turned out that they ran out of that salad so I ended up getting a veg. pizza anyway and brought home the rest. It was an interesting combination -- mushroom, eggplant, corn, broccoli, pepper, etc.

We popped in to see my dad after that and spent a while watching Julia horse around.

Today? I'm up trying to plan my week like I do most Mondays. Tuesday I get produce, so I have to do a lot of cooking. Wednesday I have the workshop thing so that's going to be a rough day. After that, it should be easier and we have the weekend free of obligations so we ought to be better rested.

I didn't exercise heavily last week (1 weight workout, 3 swim lessons) but I did keep a food log and I'm down 2 lbs. So... let's see how this week develops. I have two recipes I want to try out so I'm looking forward to that.

My Day

8:30 AM -- Take meds

8:30-10:30 AM Eat, prowl the house, nurse, anxiously watching weather

10:30 -- get kid in car and go to pool, parkign lot full, park at church and walk back to pool, Dress child, feed her yogurt, sunscreen.

11:15 - 11:45 AM Swim Lesson

11:45 - 12:00 PM Drive to grocery

12:00 - 12:30 PM Get prescription and groceries done, also get gas

12:30 - 12:45 PM Drive home

12:45- 1:30 change clothes, eat lunch with kid

1:30 - 2:30 nurse and nap with kid

2:30 - 3:00 get diaper bags and lunches packed, change clothes, get kid in car

3:00 - 3:3o drive to work

3:30-6:00 At preschool minding children, cleaning up, etc.

6:00-6:30 Eat lunchboxes, nurse kid

6:30 - 8:30 Hold workshop while DH takes kid on outing to bookstore

8:30 - 9:00 Drive home

9:00- 9:30 have snack, deal with mail

9:30- 10:00 Bath and story

10:00 - 11:30 nurse and fuss with overtired child trying to get her to sleep

11:30 Send Daddy in to deal with it so I an regain my composure/temper

Tomorrow's not looking much better. I have swim lesson, and a day off work, but we're going to a family thing in the evneing so I have from 1:30 PM - 5:30 PM to do a week's worth of housework that hasn't gotten done and get a workout in there, any type.

Quickie

• What:Shoulders, Bi's Tri's

Really busy weekend. Saturday was errands, then Sunday I gave part of service while Paul helped in nursery and then off to niece's birthday party in another town.

So today I'm scrambling to catch up and get done.

Two loads of laundry
dinner made
food logged weight workout done
swim lesson skipped (raining, ugh)

and now I'm off to work.

Swimming

Going back to work this afternoon. The fever and dire rear are over, and the dehydration was fended off more or less successfully.

Man, that was rough! I was throwing up stuff I can't remember eating!

Paul thinks it was food poisoning and I think he must be right but I can't for the life of me figure out where we ate that may have been the source.

Yesterday I felt well enough to hit swim lesson and Julia is in two minds about the whole thing. Part of her is excited to be there and part of her dreads it. Mainly because this year she's a toddler, and her teacher is not scaling it down for her like he does for what he calls the "baby babies."

We have two in our class that's just over the 6 mos mark. I remember when Julia was that age taking class. She couldn't walk at all. And now if given the chance she'll scramble out of the pool yelling "I'm done! I'm done! I want to get out!" and try to run away!

I also have to get another bathing suit because she had me in a death grip that almost pulled my shoulder straps off. This one is too loose.

The main part that gets her anxious is the part in class where she has to be dunked under water. I can't figure if it's the dunking or the stranger anxiety or the domino effect of all the other children yelling and crying.

Once we're home she will calmly tell Paul what she did and how she had to "pop out" of the water and demonstrate kicking and sing the little songs they sing.

Next week? Life vests.

That's going to be interesting.

Spoke too soon

100.2 deg fever. Ugh.

Paul came home early from work to take care of us and Julia had to miss her swim lesson. She's going to have to miss tomorrow too because I don't have anyone to take her.

Blah.

Exhausted

This is the part I hate about being sick. The catching up afterwards.

I was so tired after work that I crashed. And now it is nearly 11 PM and I've thrown together dinner.

While I'm grateful that Paul kept an eye on the kid, I keep wondering a) why couldn't he make them dinner and b) why I have to get up at 11 PM to make it? If I'm that tired, can I just not keep on sleeping through the night?! Or if they're so hungry and he's so clueless, why can't he wake me up earlier than 11 PM to deal with it?

Yargh.

Today was Julia's first swim lesson of the season so that's part of the reason why I feel so run down today. Being sick and then getting back to normal is rough enough without adding this new thing on top of it.

health from different angles

My cough lingers but I'm going back to work today.

Did Yoga Kids 1 with Julia last night before bath time. It was fun.

Also got to sleep on the new twin bed with Julia and it felt sooooo good! I woke up today feeling much better rested even though the mattress pad isn't here yet. The old bed bit the dust.

I'm not exactly comfortable ordering organic mattresses online without getting to lay down on them in person so when it was time to switch the old twin out I stuck to what I know best -- Simmons BeautyRest.

But I did get better quality dust mite casings for both the twin and the queen beds and then a mattress topper for the twin from www.allergybuyersclub.com

Julia doesn't really leak in the night, but it's easier to wash a topper than a bed if she has an accident and at least this way I can have an organic dust mite resistant topper without worrying too much about whether or not I'm going to like it and what it will be to ship it back and get a refund.
I hope I like it. I've never bothered with toppers and htings because I like a firm bed.

But I'm finally trying to do something about my dust mite allergy in regards to where and how I sleep. And I'm going to have to address the fact that I've skipped on my allergy shots for months now.

While I was sick I got to read a lot more than usual. The Healthy Home : Beautiful Interiors That Enhance the Environment and Your Well-Beingwas lovely and I'm working my way through Organic Housekeeping and Healthy Home Workbook.

I've got two more rooms to declutter and then it's pretty much just reorganizing/redecorating so I've been more interested in taking the time to make our home reflect what we value and more nurturing instead of being the jumped of version of my coming home and flinging my sneakers off into the nearest corner -- careless clutter, utilitarian furnishings purchased as throw aways, hand me downs that aren't quite us, etc.

The dorm days and first flat days are long over and while having a child still has to take a nod toward durable/easily replaceable it doesn't have to be this disorganized.

I'm trying to read more about ayurveda, feng shui, and kitchen witches.

To sum up? While laid up sick, I was still considering health from different angles.

But I'm better, so now I can deal with it head on again and the first thing? Clean out the fridge and kitchen and map out NORMAL meals for the coming week. Dry toast and water has gotten old!