everyday life

toddler behavior fun

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Theo has been a bit of a handful at times lately.  In case you don’t know what that means, it’s a gross understatement.  Use your imagination.  I literally started reading parenting classes curriculum in search of some magical remedy, not to mention wondering what the heck we’ve done so wrong thus far with discipline and whatnot.  He’s just a moody, sensitive child that needs structure, routine, and hard rules sometimes. Dexter has never been that way. At Dexter’s 2 year check-up we told the doctor that Dexter has been a breeze (as far as behavior is concerned) compared to Theo.  He was surprised that Dexter wasn’t in the midst of full-blown Terrible 2s and we said “hey, don’t jinx us dude.”  Or something like that.

Well, well, well, well.

March 2013

Mr. Dexy Poo has been giving us a run for our money these last few days.  Crazy fits, ear-piercing screams, not listening, telling us he does things “because I want to” after we ask him why he’s throwing this or breaking that, etc.  It’s been a little nutso.  Luckily, Theo has been a dream this lovely long weekend.  Helpful, sweet, and so smart. I think he’s really matured a lot lately. His thought process has been changing.  His understanding of more complex matters is increasing.  It’s so fascinating to observe and participate in all these changes.  Good thing, because I don’t think I could handle tantruming toddlers x2.

Sunday morning we were trying to get out the door and Dexter was underfoot in the kitchen. The kid would NOT get out of my way.  He was opening and slamming every cabinet door and drawer.  I sternly told him to stop or leave the kitchen and he started screaming back at me. WHO IS THIS KID?  Theo walked over to him and patted his back and said “Dexter, Dexter, don’t do that.  Be nice. I’m trying to save you.”  I had to laugh and ask Theo what he was saving Dexter from.  “Getting in trouble,” he said with a smile.  He’s becoming such a good big brother.

Dexter is now just shy of 2 years and 1 month old and we’ve seen no sign of a 2 year molar yet.  But he’s super crabby and protests toothbrush time pretty consistently so fingers are crossed here for some big ugly teeth making their way through sometime soon.

March 2013. Can someone please remind me why I chopped their hair off??
Brothers.  Best pals.

 xo,
~C~

weigh to go: 4 months in

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest
Read the previous updates and see the previous photos here. 
My goal starting out in January was to lose 20-24 pounds and remain in that range.  I’m happy to finally report that I made it! I have been in this range for about 3 weeks now.  I lost about five pounds in a couple of days when I had strep throat at the end of April, and gained a couple of them back.  Here I am in January (after my first trip to the gym in 2 or more years) and after my run tonight:

I feel much better, but I still have work to do.  I still feel squishy.  I want to feel fit.  I feel healthier but I don’t necessarily feel like a fit person.  Strep throat threw me off track with Couch to 5k and I still have not completely gotten back on track.  And now I’ve lost track of whether I’m just one week behind or two.

BUT.

But.

I WILL finish Couch to 5k by the end of May.  I will make it happen.  Why?  Because I’ve registered for my first 5k on June 1st!  I’m excited and a little nervous.  I’ve made a lot of progress considering that I struggled to run for 1 minute at a time when I started Couch to 5k and now I’m struggling to run 28 minutes…but I’m doing it!  I loathe it during sometimes, but afterwards it is one of the best feelings in the world. Truly!  I think I even saw a glimmer of a calf muscle tonight. I’m running outside more than inside, which (for me) is much more difficult physically.  The treadmill is boring though and I tend to stare at the clock, so either way it’s a challenge.

Tonight was the first night I had to run 28 min. The last three runs were only 25. Doesn’t sound like a huge difference but you better believe I threw my everything into those last three minutes while I was jamming out to Alicia Keys’ Superwoman because I wanted to quit. Bad.  It was hot.  The path I chose was very hilly.  I had just eaten dinner.  It was rough and I was super slow. But I made it without walking. Woo! Afterwards, I was anxious to find out if I ran further than I had the previous week and sadly, it was the exact same.  Given the environmental challenges, I’m not beating myself up about it too much since I did finish without stopping (and that’s my goal for the 5k, not speed).  But it would have been nice if I’d gone further than the 2.2mi that I have been running for the past week in 25 minutes.

Long way of saying I got behind, but I haven’t given up. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I only have 5 more Couch to 5k workouts remaining and I kind of don’t know what to do with myself once that’s over. Aside from walking, this has pretty much been my only exercise since I started it 9-ish weeks ago.

Suggestions?  I get bored going to the gym and doing cardio & weights.  I’ve thought about P90x but we don’t have a great place for that until we get the basement finished.  

xo,
~C~

facebook’s annoying, i’m baking, Cincinnati, and vacation

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Where’ve I been, you ask? Well, this past week Strep throat knocked me off my feet (literally) for about 3 days.  Wow – I have never had it before and I guess I just thought it was one of those things that people got or they didn’t get.  Well, I got it.  It was worse than I ever realized.  So not only did it knock me out of work for 2 days (I was able to work from home the 3rd day), it knocked me off track with Couch to 5K.  I’m planning on getting back on track (treadmill) tomorrow but I’m a little nervous.  My throat still hurts and otherwise I feel okay, but I don’t know if I’m really back up to full strength yet.

We went to Cincinnati to celebrate my nephew’s 8th birthday party yesterday and watch him shine at his Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby. It turned out to be a nice day.  I was glad we made the last minute decision to make it a day trip instead of a weekend trip. The boys needed the rest and so did I. It was nice having that unplanned day today to just relax and catch up things I was too sick to do last week.  As of this moment, I’m waiting for some cookie dough to chill in the fridge.  I’m making this:

Okay so that image is a little on the large side but you get the idea. S’mores cookies? Yes, please. If you’re thinking I’m strange for talking about diet & exercise in one paragraph and then S’mores cookies in the next, I guess you’re right. But I’m not giving up everything that I love. One word. Moderation. I wouldn’t last on any diet where I felt deprived. Moderation.

In other unrelated randomness, I am getting really super annoyed with Facebook. Too many links and quotes and pictures of the ocean that people didn’t take and drama and self-righteous people and on and on and on. Maybe people are annoyed with me for pretty much only posting links to my blog posts and pictures of my kids. I don’t care. They can delete me. I feel bad sometimes posting links to my blog but I don’t quite have a readership that warrants a fan page. I did recently surpass 50,000 page views however. That only took 2.5 years. 🙂

What else can we chat about? I am excited about plans and no plans. Lots of plans for May and but not much else planned this summer. Before we know it, it will be Disney time (October!). We did go ahead and purchase plane tickets. I toyed with the idea of driving, but eh. After an 8 hour trip home from Dollywood a couple weeks ago, I changed my mind. Theo started complaining 100 miles from home that his back hurt. He wasn’t injured so I can only imagine it was his position in his carseat. I hate sitting for that long too. Flying nonstop 2 hours will be a dream compared to a 16+ hour drive.

My dough’s chilled!

night,
~C~