these last two weekends

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

This past weekend, my mom visited for a few days. It was so, so nice to have her here and not really have anything planned to do. She read lots of “Cat in the Hat” and “Sam I Am” (like both books, every night… and she was here 4 nights) and made lots of no-bake cookies.  Yumm – best thing ever. We ate pizza and visited bookstores and chatted about finances and childcare and how this parenting business is harder than I expected on all kinds of levels.  Grown up business.  Oh, mama.  Then after those wonderful 4 days, she packed back up and went back to Tennessee.  The next time we see her will be in October when we all meet up in Florida for vacation.  Wee!!

The weekend before last, my best friend and her girlfriend came for a visit.  My best friend and I decided about a year ago that too much time was slipping by between our visits.  There’s nothing I’d love more than to have her living down the street.  I long for the kind of friendship here where my friend loves my kids (almost) as much as I do and I wouldn’t hesitate for one second to ask them to watch the boys.  Even better, if she lived here, I know she would ask me when she could watch the boys. Alas, she lives 4 hours away so we have to settle for occasional visits.  For the past year, we’ve set up quarterly visits and it’s working.  She comes here in Jan, Feb, or March.  I go there in April, May, or June.  And so on… so far, so good.  I love seeing my best friend but even more, I love seeing her with my boys and seeing how much they love her.

It was bittersweet watching them leave. Theo and I were outside playing in the sandbox and when they backed out, Theo watched them until their car disappeared down the road with a sad little frown on his face.  I asked him what was wrong and thought his eyes would well up with tears.  It was oddly sad to see how much he loves someone that is not family – but the beauty of it is that he doesn’t even realize that.  The strengths and weaknesses in relationships are magnified with the addition of children.  It’s true – kids change EVERY thing. Every single thing.  Some friendships I had before have all but gone away while others have blossomed.  Priorities change.  A real friend realizes that and accepts it for what it is.  Might not be late night 3 hour long phone calls anymore.  Might be a text at 6:30 am just to say hello.

My friends planned their visit – okay, I planned their visit – around an annual festival here called WAMMfest (Wine, Art, Microbrews, and Music).  My favorite thing is shopping all the local artisans’ booths for one-of-a-kind treasures.

We all got mugs from one of the local pottery artists, Fatty Frogs Pots (please support local businesses and check out her etsy page).
Emily, the bff, enlightened me that this year marks 20 years since we met. Doesn’t seem like either of us should be old enough to have had a friend for that long because one thing’s for sure, we weren’t in diapers when we met.  
We discovered that an abandoned wagon (the boys and Ryan went home for a nap) makes the perfect coffee table. 

20 years in the making and still going strong!

The day was gorgeous. Perfect. No other way to describe it. 

We ran into a friend of mine and her family and spent the last hour or so hanging out with them.  And you know, snapped this pic before I realized it looked like I was nursing my friend’s baby.  He was actually just passed out asleep…but yeah.  AWK-WARD.  P.S. The observant reader might notice that I changed clothes mid-festival.  Yes. That’s because I dumped a bucket of parmesan garlic butter down the front of that pink & blue striped dress, which, coincidentally belongs to the friend pictured here (holding Dexter).  Luckily Ryan came back with the boys – and a dress. 
All in all, our weekends have been pretty fantastic lately.
Now if I could just figure out a way to get my mom AND my bff a lil’ closer….
xo,
~C~

a blast from the past: things Theo said

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Woweeee, I just looked at my drafts and found this list of cute things Theo was saying…in February 2012, just before his second birthday. I’d forgotten about a lot of them and it’s remarkable to realize how much his vocabulary and ability to pronounce things has grown in the last year and a half.  He talks like a 6 year old now and rarely mispronounces things.  When he does, I savor it.  The only things I can think of right now, off the top of my head, are “bane-dane” (band-aid) and “read the constructions” (instead of instructions).  I’m sure there are others, but I’ll have to think about it and make a list. Need to make a list for Dexter too!

As a refresher, here’s how Theo looked a year and a half ago…

versus today (literally today…he’s sick with a fever)

And here are a few cute things Theo was saying a year and a half ago…

“Whoozat name?” (whenever he wanted to know what something was or what someone’s name was).

“I hit mommy in the face.  Agaiiiiin.”  (NICE, son.)

“Go to Angie’s house? I so happy!”
“Go to playground? I so happy!”
“Get a new toy? I so happy!”
“Go to store? I so happy!”

Kanket. Two kankets.  Cars Blankie. Too. (I remember him adding “too” as a separate sentence to MANY things that he said).

Mommy do it.

Talkin’ bout

How bout?

E-O’s room

Be right back.

I’ll cwean it up.

daddy wook. mommy here. desser here. (Daddy at work, mommy here, and Dexter here… clearly when I worked third shift, this is kind of sad! I miss our together days).

What cute things are your toddlers saying these days?

xo,
~C~

weigh to stay: 7 months in

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

See previous posts about my weight loss and maintenance by clicking HERE.

I have been at my goal weight (a loss of 24-27 lbs, depending on the day) since about May? June?  It’s been a couple of months and I am still maintaining.  I’m very grateful for this, which makes it sound like it’s something given to me and not something I’m working for.  Sometimes I feel that way though, some days it’s easier than others to follow the rules and do what I’m supposed to do.  One thing I’ve always said though, is that I cannot and will not diet in a way that I can’t maintain.  That’s why I don’t do trendy fad diets.  For me, there’s only one path to success. Diet and exercise. And when I say diet, I don’t mean South Beach or Adkins (see, I don’t even know what the current fads are). I mean the foods that I choose to eat, that’s my “diet.” Or eating lifestyle.  Some days are smarter and better than others.

Some days I totally indulge and throw the plan out the window, but I always make up for it and I always get back on track. That’s one thing I’m learning to do, finally, after all this time of having my weight go up and down. And up and down again.  I have to get back on track when I fall off of the wagon.  Just because I know there is an event coming up where I know I will go overboard, the most important thing to remember is to live in moderation leading up to and following that event. Wedding Cake. Birthday Cake. Mom’s in town so we’re having cookies. It’s okay to enjoy food and life!  I certainly don’t have to be miserable to eat right.  It’s fun and a challenge, even, to find healthy foods I enjoy.  The Hungry Girl cookbooks are great for this.  While I do feel like I’m experiencing some success, I’m very well aware of the fact that I’ve only actually maintained my goal weight/size for a couple of months and that it doesn’t take long to put it back on.  What are some tips you have for sustained weight loss?

Here I am with my BFF on 8/17/2013.
xo,
~C~