Thursday, July 31, 2014

Cosmic Kids Yoga

On my drive in this morning, I was (of course) listening to my FAVORITE podcast of the moment - Parent Savers - and came across Episode 106 - Yoga For Kids.

I am not a Yoga person.  At all.  I went with my lunchtime crew to the gym a couple times and did not like it.  I didn't sweat, I didn't get out of breath, but I also couldn't do jack squat other than child's pose over and over.  (Hello, I do NOT like failing at stuff.)

I did like the laying down thing at the end though.  Don't judge me.

Anyway, I was skeptical that YOGA would be appropriate for high energy, active kids.  But I am all for considering new things, and hey, I gotta drive to work so listening to the podcast is low risk, right?

WELL.  I am soooo excited about this concept.  I cannot wait to incorporate it when Ethan is older and um...walking (or standing, or sitting on his own, LOL).

Cosmic Kids Yoga is a Youtube series where the "instructor" tells a fun story, all while incorporating movement (aka yoga poses) with a cartoon-y green screen background.


I can totally see toddlers and preschoolers trying to follow along, moving their bodies just like the instructor, while listening to the story.

Each story is about 15 minutes long, and is so fun and silly, and is 'familiar' to other books and stories out there.

Check it out for yourself!  Cosmic Kids Yoga Youtube channel - Squish the Fish Episode 1

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

A re-joiner

After a week on my own, I decided to re-join Weight Watchers on Saturday.

I had a lot of success with WW back in 2011-2012 before hiring my trainer and getting serious about counting calories and macros.

I thought I would be able to jump back in with the planning and tracking calories / macros but it has been too much work to keep track online, and at the end I would slack and keep a bit of a running tally in my head instead...NOT POSSIBLE any longer, something to do with sleep deprivation and working at my crazy job maybe!?

Anyway, I like the simplicity of the Points Plus system - it's easier to make quick decisions (oh boy, 12 points for ice cream? no thanks), the meetings  were a great way to refocus for the week, and the weekly weigh-in sure helped keep me accountable.

I was really surprised that I get 14 extra daily points for exclusively breastfeeding.  I will be surprised if I can actually eat that much every day and still lose.  This week, I will try the full daily points including the BF points, and maybe tweak next week depending on my results.  And, not sure if I will be eating the weekly points or not (we will see).

My weigh in day is Saturday right now.  I may go back to the Thursday night meetings but I hate to be away from Ethan more than I have to.  But our weekends are pretty sacred, and come fall, we will be CAMPING again.  I guess I could bring him along to Thursday nights...we're done by 6:30 so would still have plenty of time to get ready for bed.

So, we will see how it goes.  If I track and plan, it will work. It did before and it will again.  And I'm committed to becoming a healthier mommy!


Thursday, July 24, 2014

Doing so well...

So today is a good day for my nutrition.  NO SNEAKING YET!!!  Granted, it's only 1PM but hey.

Breakfast was 3 eggs, spinach, and salsa, sprinkled with Tony's (thanks for getting me hooked, Dad!).  Oh plus coffee and almond milk.

Lunch was a leftover pork chop, sweet potato, and asparagus.  With 3 "cuties" for dessert.  (What are those anyway?)

I have some greek yogurt in my fridge for a snack, or a 4oz cottage cheese cup if that sounds better later.  And I also have some carrot sticks and hummus if neither of those sound good...

GAH, STAY ON PLAN TODAY CHICA!

Monday, July 21, 2014

It must be Monday...

I have done really well with my nutrition today.  I'm about to have my popcorn snack and then will be heading home for the day.  If I can fend off the afternoon munchies, it's usually smooth sailing for me the rest of the day (as long as we cook what we have planned, LOL).

However, there has been no working out today.  Here is today's excuse:  

BABY WILL NOT SLEEP MORE THAN 2-3 HOURS.  

Jeff thinks I have trained him to want to nurse back to sleep.  I think maybe he's right.  And maybe at almost 5 months his brain is on overdrive and he just wakes up transitioning from REM to non REM sleep.  Anyway, I have NOT felt like exercising this weekend (or today).  I'm seriously exhausted.

Maybe if it's not raining I will take E for a walk in the Ergo again.  We both love it as long as it's not godforsaken hot and humid here.

In the meantime I'm feeling like this:

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Thursday, July 17, 2014

Ethan's Father's Day Baptism

It was incredibly important to Jeff and me that Ethan get baptized.  We have always had a strong faith life, even if we haven't been regular worshipers.  We are so glad to have found our church home at Christ Our Shepherd in Peachtree City.

Ethan was baptized June 15, 2014 on Father's Day Weekend.  After waking up to a perfect Georgia summer day (read: hot and humid), we headed off to church for the 11AM service.


Ethan did really great during the service.  The baptism was the first thing, so he was freshly dressed, changed, and fed and therefore in a pretty good mood.

The liturgy was the traditional Lutheran commitments and readings.  From the ELCA:

Our baptism sets us out on a lifelong journey that is characterized by our relationship to God, our relationship to our faith community, our relationships in our community and the wider world. Living our baptismal covenant means living a life of growth in the faith practices of discipleship.  

We are to “...live among God’s faithful people; hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper; proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed; serve all people following the example of Jesus; and strive for justice and peace in all the earth.” 



Jeff and I are completely honored and dedicated to raise Ethan with these morals, ideals, and faith, all the while giving him the tools, education, and knowledge to grow.

Amy was his family sponsor, and the (non-relative) Hartmans were our church sponsors.  

We are so grateful for these folks who will help us, help and guide him to learn about being a faithful follower of Christ.

And of course, Grandma and Grandpa were there too!!!  They have always made sure we had the opportunity to learn and be part of a church family.  They even offered up Pastor Joanne to baptize Ethan! :)

We feel so lucky that Pastor Fritz decided to come to COS.  We are so happy to be part of the congregation.

After the service, we hosted the "Six Hartmans" and my family at our home.  The kids ran around the house and played, and even went in the backyard for a bit.

We had a luncheon of chicken salad, ham salad, and turkey sandwiches, veggie plates, chips, and mixed fruit.  We topped everything off with this wonderful Raspberry Elegance cake from Publix (vanilla cake with raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting).  YUM!

The kids of course each wanted a flower, and we were happy to cut the cake accordingly - who said it had to be cut in rows anyway!

Later in the day after everyone left, we had a nice Father's Day celebration with my Dad and Jeff.  They both received their cards and gifts from me, and from Ethan.

Look at these two cool dudes - one with the Iron Horse Campground hat, and the other with an outfit that says "My Grandpa Rides a Harley"!!

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Setting Goals, and some tough love.

I am still carrying around about 30 lbs of baby weight.  I call it baby weight, because I gained it during the pregnancy.  But even when that "baby weight" is gone, I still have a lot of "life weight" left to lose.

I shed quite a bit of water weight initially (and baby, and pregnancy grossness stuff), but since about 2 months post partum, the scale hasn't moved much.

So, I guess it's time to stop depending on breastfeeding calorie burn as my only means of losing weight.  It's time to stop using breastfeeding hunger as an excuse to eat whatever and whenever I want.

My long-term goals:

  Number 1: Get healthy and fit so I can crawl around on the floor with baby, carry a toddler around without being winded or sore, and run after a preschooler.  (That takes care of the next few years at least, LOL.)

  Number 2: Learn to ride a horse, and do it on the beach when we're on vacation.

  Number 3: Hike in the Rockies (Colorado) and the Alps (Switzerland) as a family vacation.

  Number 4: Increase my energy so I have more output and attention for my husband, because that is the most important relationship I CHOOSE to maintain!

  Number 5: Be generally AWESOME!!!

What does that look like (aka my short-term goals):
1.  Lose 70 lbs by my birthday (May 6) next year - 42 weeks remain, which equates to 1.5-2 lbs of weight loss per week.  This is probably a good rate as long as I'm continuing to breastfeed (which I am).

2.  Start tracking my food again.  I totally got away from it during the pregnancy...it was too much work especially when I wasn't feeling well.  I used to belong to Weight Watchers but quit after I had a lot of success, and felt comfortable on my own with My Fitness Pal and my trainer (Hi Carla!) instead.  I will re-start using MFP, and try to stay around 1800 calories per day, with carb/protein/fat macros of 30/40/30.

3.  I have got to start being active again.  I LOVED my group fitness classes back over at the G.O.  They were at lunch time, and I totally had my posse who headed over together, and kept each other accountable.  Since coming over to TOC in September, I just have not gotten into the rhythm of the classes, time of day, or fitness friends that I had before.  But, the only way to get that back is to jump right in.  So I am going to start working out 4 days per week (not Mondays) at the gym for at least 30 minutes, either in the morning before work or over lunch time.
OK.  So there you have it.  It's Tuesday.  What better day to start than TODAY!?

Monday, July 14, 2014

Worrying. Anxiety. Postpartum Issues?

Jillian says that if you act to avoid the things you fear, what you fear most will manifest itself.  For example, you are worried your guy will leave you.  So you call, text, drop by...get super clingy...and now he is gone.

Carla said that Worrying is like Accidentally Praying for What We Don't Want.  I get that.  Time and energy spent thinking in negatives instead of productive positives.  I totally get that.

I worry.  I'm afraid Ethan will die.  Plain and simple.  And to a lesser extent, I'm afraid something serious will happen to him.  I worry constantly.  Constantly.

And I'm afraid that it will be my fault.

That I won't be able to protect him.  That I won't be able to shelter him.  That I will do something that results in his harm.  That I won't do something that results in his harm.

So -

I am crazy about crib and sleeping arrangements because I am terrified - TERRIFIED - of SIDS.

I accidentally got water in his mouth during bath time and spent a good portion of the night awake to make sure he did not suffer dry drowning.

I am super pro breastfeeding because of the health benefits, it lowers SIDS risk, and boosts immunity for all sorts of things (especially asthma and allergies, with my history).

I am completely pro-vaccine but ALMOST did not want to get his 2 month shots on the off chance "the internet" could be right.  But at the same time, didn't NOT want to get his shots because I am convinced he would get whooping cough.

I researched what age was early enough to get swimming lessons so he can learn to float and save himself (20 months BTW).

I made my parents get re-vaccinated before the baby was born so he wouldn't get sick.

I weaned him off the Swaddle the second I thought he might roll over so he wouldn't get tangled and die.

I sometimes re-latch and re-tighten his carseat belts just to be sure.

I am anxious.  Probably every new mom is anxious.  I think it's normal.  I think I am acting in normal ways that protect my son.

But...am I?  Is my level of anxiety ok?  Or is it postpartum depression?  Or another manifestation of my grief over my little brother dying when I was 11?  Or a combination?

I don't know.  And I hope I can work through it. This becoming a mother thing is hard.

**Update** Since writing my thoughts in one spot, and talking to several people, I'm reaching out for an appointment with a therapist to get some tools in my belt to deal with the anxiety.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

4 months old!

Ethan turned 4 months old when we were on vacation over the 4th of July!  More to come on the vacation...but I wanted to post his 4 month photo today since Daddy just sent it over :)

Here are some of his favorite things:


  • MOMMY & DADDY, and Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunties, Uncles, and Cousins
  • BEING HELD  for naps
  • His paci (Dr. Brown's 0-6 month)
  • Being covered by a blankie while napping in someone's arms
  • His play gym and in particular the blue elephant that dangles down so he can hit it
  • Singing songs with Mommy, especially Jesus Loves Me,  The Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Wheels on the Bus, All God's Critters, and Daisy, Daisy
  • Laughing back when you open your mouth really big and laugh first
  • Catching glimpses of the TV while Mommy & Daddy try to turn him away (we are trying for a no screen time until 2yo rule)
  • Being outside and looking at the trees
  • Sitting upright (with assistance / pillows) and looking at the world
  • Giggling when he gets his tummy raspberried
  • Scrunching up his shoulders when pulling a shirt on or off over his head
  • Kick, kick, kicking the water at bathtime


Things he hates (there is not much!)

  • The Nosefrida and getting his boogers sucked out
  • Taking naps and falling asleep alone
  • Riding in the car without someone in the backseat