Losing Control
Mar 11th
I have been a mother now for four years, five months and eleven days. For the majority of that time I have felt in control of most things baby/toddler/child related. I determine when my children eat, when they bathe, when they get to watch TV. I determine where we are going on a given day and who we will see. The power is in my hands. Though, that doesn’t mean I don’t get request for other things or protests against what I say. But the truth of the matter is, I am the parent and I make the rules. Right?
One thing that I have really enjoyed having control over for the past four years, five months and eleven days is what my children wear and how they are presented when we’re out of the house. By that I mean, I love dressing my girls in cute outfits and coordinating their hair accessories to match. I take pride in their neatness and overall put-together-ness. It’s sort of like a hobby of mine. That might sound materialistic or even ridiculous to some, but to me, it’s just the way I like it. It doesn’t mean that I shop at high end stores or dress my girls in fancy clothes. In fact, 95% of their wardrobe comes from Target or Kohls. I am a bargain shopper. What it does mean is that I just like them to look neat, clean and presentable whenever we’re out. I like them to be dressed properly for the day/occasion and the weather. Up until recently, I have had complete control over this.
ENTER 4 year, 5 month, 11 day old daughter. EXIT mom’s control of outfit selection.
I love being a mom to girls. It really suits me. {Though honestly I don’t know anything else.} But it definitely has it’s challenges. As much as I love dressing my girls, I simply don’t have the time or energy to argue about clothes with a four and a half year old. The mornings are much too rushed as it is and without at least two cups of coffee in me, I just can’t stand to put up the fight. Even if I did, a meltdown of epic proportions would ensue and I’d ultimately give in to get her to shut up! {Please do not criticize my parenting strategy, or lack there of.}
So, yesterday morning, as we were getting ready for the day, my daughter asks, “Mom, can I wear whatever I want?” I’d say this question gets asked as average of 5 out of 7 days of the week. Typically I say yes, but I do ask to see the outfit before it’s put on. If the outfit is weather appropriate and suitable for whatever the day has in store, I don’t fight it {even if it’s the complete opposite of what I would have picked out for the day.} I do have to say though, Brinley does know how to coordinate an outfit so my efforts thus far have been worth it. The clothes she chooses almost always match and look cute. {I, of course, do still have control over what is purchased! Thank God!}
Anyway, back to yesterday morning… Brinley lays out her outfit of choice and I go in to her room to approve of it. She has picked out pink leggings, a jean skirt, pink socks, and a pink, long sleeved shirt. Sounds great, right? Well, the pink shirt had a black cat on it with Halloween themed stars and said “Scaredy Cat”. I mentioned to her that it was a Halloween shirt and that Halloween had already passed but I must have forgotten to put the shirt away. I suggested another pink shirt to go with the outfit but she insisted on this one. So, I let it go. And I let my daughter go out, to a play date even, in a Halloween shirt in March.
Highlighter Tears
Feb 9th
Remember how cool black lights were? I’m not implying that they’re no longer cool, it’s just that it’s been years since I’ve seen one. When I was in college they were all the rage. All of the parties and clubs my friends and I went to had them. The best were the highlighter parties where you’d color on your white shirt or your skin {gasp!} with the fluorescent markers and then hang out in a room lit only by black light bulbs. Totally awesome, right?! So just think how totally awesome it would be if you could have had that highlighter juice coming out of your eyes!
Ok, so maybe that isn’t the most awesome thought right now. It’s actually kind of disturbing. But today, I got to see what that would have looked like. Back in October I wrote a post about my daughter’s blocked tear duct. I was having a hard time with the fact that she might have to have it surgically probed to open it up. This meant putting her under anesthesia. The thought made me sick. But now, I’m coming to terms with the idea.
Today I took Nora for her second eye doctor appointment. The first time, she had a comprehensive eye exam and aside from the blocked duct and very slight myopia {nearsightedness} in one eye she checked out just fine. So back to the highlighter oozing eyes… They put these special yellow drops in her eyes. The drops tint her tears and then the doctor can see how the tears are draining. The way they do that is they shine a black light in her eye and see where the tinted tears are going. And since Nora’s left tear duct is blocked, the tears were pooling on her lower lids and glazing over her entire eye. So when the doctor shined the black light it looked like highlighter was pouring out of her eyes. It was cool and creepy at the same time.
All of this has confirmed the fact that Nora will have to have her duct probed. They refer to it as a surgery which makes me cringe, but it takes all of about 5 minutes. Hopefully once it’s over with I’ll stop hearing, “Oh, poor thing! Why is she crying?”
Let’s Face It…
Feb 3rd
…post activity on this here blog has been sluggish, to say the least, these past few months. Am I sorry? No, not really. This blog is my creative outlet and I don’t have any schedule, per se, for posting on it. That’s the best part about it.
Remember when you were in high school or college and you were given a writing assignment with a particular due date? Wasn’t that the worst!? Even if you loved writing or it just came easy to you, having someone give you a topic to write on and then tell you when it was due was just plain hell. At least it was for me. I’m most creative and wordy when it’s not forced. Do I enjoy writing? Yes. Does it come easy to me? Most of the time. Except when I try to force myself to sit down and blog.
As many of you readers know, since most of you are busy moms too, carving out time in the day for yourself is just plain hard. Ever try to do something you wanted to do spur of the moment with two kids hanging off your legs? Yeah, impossible. So when I’m going through my daily grind and an idea strikes me that I think would make a good blog post, I can’t just stop what I’m doing and run over to my computer. I’ve got sticky hands to clean, dishes to wash and laundry to fold. So I take those ideas and file them into my brain {or jot them down on a sheet of paper so I don’t forget} and hope that when I have time, the ideas will flow. But that’s simply not always the case. I find myself sitting at my computer quite often with a post window open and a page full of blog ideas by my side and noting will come to me. I’m trying to force myself to type something out and it just doesn’t work.
Am I giving up on this blog? No way! I love writing and sharing stories. I love the people I’ve met through blogging and I love the creative outlet. So when I have time, and the mood is right, and the creative juices are flowing you can bet that I’ll be blogging. But I’m not going to force myself to stick to a schedule because then this will all just turn into a chore and who likes doing chores? Not me! 
If you’re still following my blog, thanks for sticking with me. I truly appreciate your readership and hope to have many more great posts to share with you.
What Not to Wear – Gym Edition
Jan 26th
When I get ready to exercise I always change out of my every day clothes and into something more flexible, comfortable and absorbent {for the sweat}. I can’t imagine working out in, say, jeans or a polo shirt or work boots. My typical gym outfit consists of a sports bra, a dry-fit type shirt, a light weight fleece, yoga type pants, athletic socks and sneakers. It takes me maybe 3 minutes to get into said outfit.
After going to the gym three days a week for the past month, I’ve found that not everyone feels the need to dress the way I do for working out. In the past three weeks, I have seen. it. all. I try to avoid letting my jaw hit the floor when I see people dressed inappropriately for the gym, but sometimes it’s pretty difficult. Let me give you a rundown on some of the outfits I have seen:
1) Wear Your Work Clothes to the Gym – This is much more common than I would have ever thought. There are no less than two people on any given day that I’m at the gym dressed like they’ve just come from work. And they probably have done just that. I’m talking about button down oxford type shirts, khaki pants, dress socks and even a belt! This can not possibly be a comfortable outfit to work out in. I’m guessing that these people are in some sort of rush or maybe they forgot to pack a gym bag. Whatever the case may be, it’s ridiculous. Do these people NOT see everyone else around them dressed in gym attire?
2) I’m Going Clubbing After I Workout – and apparently I don’t have time to change before I head out. I’ve seen numerous young (mostly teenage or early twenties) girls wearing skin tight leggings and glitter/sequin type tank tops while on the elliptical. They usually have on full jewelry – earrings, necklaces, rings – and full make up – sparkly eye shadow, eye liner, lipstick, manicured nails. They usually have their hair down and it’s perfectly straightened and highlighted. I know they’re only there to socialize and scope out guys because I’ve never seen them break a sweat and they always work out in packs. I’ve yet to see one of these girls in heels or FMBs but I wouldn’t put it past them!
3) I Can’t Afford a Gym Wardrobe So I Stopped at Goodwill – While I totally agree that the gym is not a fashion show (see I’m Going Clubbing After I Workout), I don’t think that means you should show up looking homeless (unless, in fact, you are and in which case, what are you doing at the gym?). Anyway, these gym-goers usually have on a T-shirt that is at least 3 sizes too big for them adorned with food and armpit stains. They have on shorts that are either much to big or much too small and a pair of LA Gears circa 1984. I’m sure their Sony Walkman is playing the soundtrack from Richard Simmon’s Sweating to the Oldies.
4) Oh, I Thought I Was Going to Gang Initiation – These are the guys. You know the ones. They show up in jeans, usually very baggy and sometimes covered in metallic designs. They have on their best work boots, a knit hat and an oversized hoodie. They make eye contact with no one and wear those huge headphones. They don’t go near the cardio equipment and gather in groups near the free weights. Don’t even think about trying to work in a set when they’re around.
It completely amazes me to see what people will wear to the gym. I think it’s crazy but it’s also a bit entertaining. And don’t even get me started on the things that people DO while they’re working out. I’ll save that for another post.
My New Pal
Jan 25th
If you read my post yesterday, you’re aware that I’m eight pounds lighter than I was three weeks ago. When I first started back to the gym, I was keeping a written log in a notebook. I’d note the date, whether I went to the gym or worked out at home, what I did for exercise and approximately how many calories I burned. Then last week I was introduced to a new website – MyFitnessPal.
I was a bit skeptical at first because I thought it was some sort of diet program and that is not what I was looking for. I browsed around the site for a bit and learned that it was simply a web based journal, if you will. It’s a place to track your fitness progress. Not only does it keep track of your calories, but it also keeps track of all other nutrients – protein, carbs, sugar, vitamins, sodium, etc. There is a food diary where you can log everything you eat and it calculates all of the nutrients for you. Most foods are already in the database but if by chance something isn’t there, you can add it. You can record your weigh ins and it will give you a visual of how you’re doing. It also tells you, “If you eat like this every day, you will weight XXX lbs in X weeks.” It’s a great way to hold yourself accountable for what you’re eating and how much you’re exercising. Oh and the best part, it’s 100% free!
I’m not crediting MyFitnessPal entirely for my weight loss success, but it really does help to keep me on track. I’m someone who needs that constant reminder and my new ‘Pal’ really helps with that. If you’re an iPhone or iPod Touch user, you can also download the free app and have it with you where ever you go!
*Disclaimer: I was not paid in any way, shape, or form by MyFitnessPal for this post. I just like to share tools that I find helpful.
