Mom rules

I don't think I've discussed it here, but my mom went to Costa Rica on December 13th and didn't come back until day before yesterday. SHEESH I missed her. And the girls have relished - truly relished - having her here. They want HER to put the banana on their plates in the morning. They want HER to read to them. They want HER to play blocks with them. And you know? I'm more than happy to offer her up to complete those tasks. I've thoroughly enjoyed having her here to lighten my load a little. More importantly, though, I've enjoyed having her here to visit with me! Nanni came as regularly scheduled on Wednesday afternoon, so Mom and I got to go out for lunch at our hands-down-favorite Middle Eastern restaurant in Portland (Nicholas) and clothes shopping all by ourselves. What a treat! She's going home tomorrow morning, but I'm grateful that she was here for a few days and that she'll once again be several hours away instead of somewhere down on a mountain top in Central America. I love Costa Rica and am thrilled that she's also fallen in love with the place, but if I'm here, I'd like her here, too. I'm just sayin'. Welcome home, Mom!

Thursday, March 25, 2010 | Labels: , | 0 Comments  

Forward progress

I grew up a skinny girl. I weighed about 100 pounds (mind you, I'm also just under 5'4" and have tiny bird bones) until I was 21-ish. Then I gained weight as will happen when a girl becomes a woman. But I never did anything about it and, blech, I slowly began to hate my body as it got larger and softer, larger and softer. Sure, sure - I lost weight for my wedding but then gained it back shortly thereafter. I was seriously unhappy with my figure and had just started a diet plan when I got knocked up a few years ago. Um, yeah. A twin pregnancy doesn't do anyone any favors if you know what I'm saying and I think you do. After the breastfeeding was done, I was a solid size 12.


Now I want to be clear - I don't give a crap what anyone else's size is. I love people of all different shapes and sizes and would never judge ANYONE based on that criteria - except myself. I was woefully, woefully, woefully unhappy with how I looked and my self-image was pathetic. But who had time for the gym? Not. Freaking. Me. I had two kids.

Aaaannnnyyywaaaayyy..... remember my major crisis last December about turning 35? It had the effect of kicking my ass into action about getting happy with myself again - mentally, emotionally, physically; about getting good with me, my life, and where it's all headed (even if that's unknowable). I'm still working on everything, but I'm feeling a lot better about things. Dude and I are working on a few items that needed attention. I'm taking a parenting class that's giving me some tools for dealing with the girls when things are getting too nutty. And peeps? I've been losing weight. I still don't have time for the gym, but I've been counting calories and my clothes no longer fit. I did a big organization of my clothes the other day and tried on a bunch of stuff that practically fell off me. My skinniest skinny jeans? They're now my baggy jeans. It's exciting! But it also leaves me with the dilemma of needing and not being able to afford a new wardrobe.

I went to the Rack today to get some new jeans. I wasn't sure what size to get, so I grabbed a bunch of different ones. I feel sorta giddy saying this, but I'm either a 4 or a 6 depending on the jeans. And really - I think it's closer to the 4. I ended up buying a pair of sixes that I've been wearing for a few hours now and they're starting to slide down my hips. Yes, I'm totally bragging here. But only because it feels so GOOD to not look at my body and sigh with utter and complete disgust.

Remember my wish to be young again when I was sitting precariously on the cusp of my birthday? Well... I am! I am! I am! Or at least I'm the size I was when I was young. But you know what's even better? I still have all the good stuff the last ten years have brought me and don't have to give any of it up. Pretty kick-ass, eh? I think so.

Saturday, March 20, 2010 | Labels: | 2 Comments  

Two more additions to the last post...

"Heads up, Mommy. Belly a little boy. Belly my brother."


And she's taken to saying tootle-loo instead of goodbye, except she says, "toodle-doo!"

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | Labels: | 0 Comments  

My funny Bug

I try to keep things even with the girls. Lord knows life ain't always fair, but I shoot for even. This post, however, is dedicated to my Bug. She has been dropping a lot of little cute/funnyisms lately and I thought I would share...


She saw an airplane the other day and tried to grab it out of the sky. She knew she couldn't reach it, but she wanted to try anyway.

She put her toy teapot on the kitchen table, shoved her hands in her pockets, and watched it with a sour look on her face. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "Oh mommy. Coffee cooking. Need more coffee."

Dude and I were talking at dinner and she heard me say motorcycle. "Buggy motorcycle! Mommy! Want motorcycle! Buggy want motorcycle! My motorcycle! My motorcycle!" She followed this with a whiney tirade about needing a motorcycle. As soon as she got over it, she said that she wanted to go to the beach. She wanted to walk on the beach. "My ocean! My ocean! My ocean! My ocean!" Yes, she launched into full whine with that, too, but it was funny to see her want something so unownable so desperately.

(Man, I'm making up words left and right in this post.)

"Buggy excited [to] see Aunt Erika! Panda, polar bear excited, too!"

Overheard on the baby monitor...
Belly: "Mommy! Nap over!"
Buggy: "Bummer, Belly. Shh. Read Pajama Time. You a sweetheart monster."

"I love you, Mommy... Very much... Like cheese pups (puffs)."

EVERY time I change a poopy diaper on Belly: "Ooooh! Big mess! Messy diap! Pew, Belly!" (Is that how you spell pew in this instance? It doesn't seem right, but my brain can't think of an alternative...)

I'm sure there are more, but those are the top-of-mind ditties. She's a handful but she sho is cute.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010 | Labels: | 1 Comments  

Better

Yes - today was better. And thank god because I was about to leave the children outside the grocery store with little notes pinned to their shirts that said, "FREE (+ the expense of maintenance and upkeep)." You guys were right. We all needed to get the heck out of the house. We went to Swap this morning and then home for nap. I burned a new nap time cd last night that doubled up a few songs in the middle, thus increasing the music time to a full 80 minutes and eliminated the need for me to sneak back in the room to restart the cd. PLUS I largely ignored Belly's cries (instead of calling up on the monitor and telling her to shush) and I think she may have actually fallen back asleep for awhile. Sure, she fussed again and was back to her usual shenanigans, but not for the entire time and not at the same shrill volume that has become her norm. It was... dare I say it... tolerable.


After nap and lunch, we got out the new trikes and I pushed them ALL over the neighborhood. Seriously. Our neighborhood is pretty hilly and I pushed them with the "parental handles" for about an hour. My arms were jelly achy afterward. It's not easy to push two 30ish pound kids on trikes at the same time! But it was an excellent workout. Here we are saying hi to Dude at the coffee shop down the street...


Then we came home and played and read books until Dude finished working. There were no major tantrums, no serious problems of any real sort. HOORAY! Another day like yesterday would've done me in for sure. I'm living day to day here, so this counts as a huge plus.

Last night we went out to dinner with our former realtor and her husband. They have a five and a half year old son. The husband was refreshingly candid about how having a kid cramped his style but he loves him more than anything. I like that kind of frankness in a person. Anyway, the rough part of the conversation was when they agreed that it's JUST NOW seeming like they can go back to enjoying some of the stuff they did pre-kid (art ambitions, etc.). Just now? Now that the kid is in school? I practically pounded my beer at this news and proceeded to lament how I'm barely keeping my nose and mouth out of the water so I don't drown with these lovely girls of mine. They laughed and laughed, even telling me that I should do a stand-up routine about it. Go ahead. Laugh. I guess I'm a crying on the inside kind of clown.

But today was good. And that's not nothing.

You know what else? I've got tons going on this week. Wednesday night, Bri is babysitting while Dude and I get gussied up and see the Vienna Boys Choir. Thursday night I'm going out with my mama friends. And Sunday night, Dude and I are going to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the Wonder Ballroom. It's almost like I have a life.

Monday, March 01, 2010 | Labels: , , | 1 Comments  

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