That Mom Friday plus: Makeover

No, not for me. Although that would be nice! The blog got a makeover. I'm still not fully satisfied with it. I was trying to make it more "Black and White" (like the cookie theme suggests). I suck at html, meaning I have absolutely NO idea what I'm doing. So I've been relying on the blogger "design" feature. Oh well, I think I'll just keep tweaking it. Anyone have good templates that they like? (Free ones?)

Ok, so now for That Mom Friday. This week, I was "That Mom" who...

-used her "free time" to go to the doctor. What a waste!
-had to quickly hide a clump of pulled-out hair in her pocket when said doctor walked in.
-put her baby in the swing yesterday evening instead of rocking her to sleep, because Derek wasn't home from work yet and she needed to eat dinner before chomping on her own hand.
-rescheduled today's dentist appointment, despite the fact that this one had already been rescheduled from before. Bad, I know, but I'm not feeling great today, and it's snowing.
-didn't actually call the dentist herself, but had her husband do it for her 'cause she's a wuss. (Thanks, honey!)

-made a crock pot cheesecake yesterday (weird, yes, but DELICIOUS! Recipe here) despite her diet. One serving was "only" 12 points! Here's a partially-eaten picture (and yes, Derek ate most of that).
The trick, by the way, is to use a small corningware dish like the one in the picture (mine is 1.5 quarts) and place it inside the crock pot with about a cup of water in the bottom. (I use a 6 quart crock pot.) Let me tell you, this tastes AMAZING!Definitely worth my "treat points." I think I might try it again with
Oreos. Only, not for a while. Ha ha.

Hair Hell

I think I might have uncovered the reasoning behind the "Mom 'Do" (really short hair): THIS!!!!


Gross, huh? This seems to happen to me
each and every time I remove a hair band. It's even worse knowing how great my hair felt and looked during pregnancy. I know this is common, but really!!!

The other option (not wearing a hairband)? Yeah right. Not only does Lorelei constantly pull my hair and wrap it around her little fingers, but it winds up EVERYWHERE!

I have had visions of getting it cut short just to avoid all this.

And then I thought: Oh. My. God. This must be why lots of women get a short haircut when they become moms! Not because they've suddenly morphed into someone uncool, who can't take ten seconds to brush her long hair (although trust me, I've been there). It's because the shorter it is, the less of it there is to appear in your blankets, pillows, coats, sweaters, and baby's diapers.

On a related note, I know it's "That Mom Thursday," but I received a suggestion from Josh (read his blog here, it's good) to keep the name "That Mom Fridays." He said it reminded him of some 1940s comedy. And comedies are always good to be thinking about when you're trying to be funny.

So more on that tomorrow.

For today, I thought I'd mention my progress in Weight Watchers so far. I've been to two meetings, both with this really funny old lady who lost 45 pounds back in 1993 (it says so on her name tag). She's a hoot. The Saturday meetings bring out a whole bunch of different characters, let me tell you. I went to an 11:00 one the first week, and a 9:30 one last week. It's good that they have both (they also have an 8:00 one, in case I am feeling extra crazy one morning). And they have a little play area for kids, but I think Lei is too young for that right now. Anyway, on to the numbers.

Starting Weight: (at home - unofficial): 168.5
Week One at Meeting: 165.2
Week Two at Meeting: 164.2
Weight lost this week: -1.0!

I figure that, until running takes a more consistent place in my life again, slow and steady weight loss is what it's gonna be. And I'm ok with that. (That's what you're supposed to do, anyway...)

Speaking of weight loss...anybody see the Biggest Loser Tuesday? Anybody NOT mind that it was only an hour? Ha ha...Anyway, I could not believe just how much food they wasted! It was criminal! Like they couldn't have just had one or two of the contestant's favorite dishes? Instead of TOWERS of them?! Seriously. I hope they donated that food to a shelter or food bank afterwards. For goodness sake. They must have...right?

Shameless self-promotion

Yay! I got an article  published online the other day!

I found this site, CliqueClack awhile ago, while looking around for an episode recap for a show I'd missed. Turns out these site does TV and food "Clacking," which is basically reviewing and writing about these things in whatever way you want.

There are regular writers, who do weekly columns, but when I emailed one of the creators, he suggested I do a "Guest Clack." So I did. And I'm getting ready to submit another!

Writing about TV? Heck yeah!!!

How to feel better about your fussy 4-month-old

I've got it! If you're feeling overwhelmed and upset because your almost-four-month-old baby keeps fussing everywhere you go, here's the perfect remedy:

Step One: Be a cranky biatch all morning. (Oh, wait, I guess that's not really necessary, but it's certainly what I did yesterday)

Step Two: Get your husband to feel so bad for you that he offers to take the baby out of the house for a couple of hours so you can do whatever you want. After 30 minutes of waffling (should I sleep? Exercise? Cook? Clean? etc.) you decide to get your nails done because you have cat claws.

Step Three: Go the nail salon, and within ten minutes of arriving, see another mom there with HER four-month-old. (Think to yourself: Oh, boy, just when I thought I could have a baby-free afternoon...)

But seriously, it was a funny feeling. It made me actually miss Lorelei when I saw that other baby. And I didn't even mind when he started to fuss. And fuss some more. And then cry. Hard.

The mom had her mom there with her so she could hold her son while she got her nails done. I've done that before with my mom, when I was in NY. It was fine, but really not so relaxing, because I kept looking over at them wondering when she was going to burst into hysterics.

I was so relieved to see another mom in my spot, though! And it reminded me that I'm not the only one with a non-perfect (ok, make that REALLY colicky) baby. It kind of put everything in perspective. I was really thankful for that time away, and was definitely ready for her when I got back. (Plus...the grandma was extremely impatient. She actually called the kid a "devil baby" and said, "This is the LAST time we're doing this!") Yikes.

And, yes, I am a huge dork, and got a light purple color because I saw that J Lo had it on Idol this week..or at least something similar.

"That Mom" Thursdays

Ok, it's time to start recording all of the memorable "WTF" moments of being a mom. Usually, I will find myself in some sort of embarrassing situation. Like being "that mom" with the screaming kid in the nice restaurant. Or "that mom" who brings her baby to the movies at a young age, because she is desperate to see a movie.

These types of situations happen to me so often that I think I should start a weekly report of them. I know today's Friday,but "That Mom Thursday" sounds better than "That Mom Friday." right? Oh, who knows.

So, today...I was THAT mom...the one who can't get through the door(s)--multiple! of the doctor's office without her stroller bumping into the doors like ten times...the one who goes to get a cup of water at the water cooler (while simultaneously blocking yet another doorway with the stroller) and promptly spills it all over herself and the floor...the one whose baby takes a MASSIVE dump during the appointment and gets the poop on her outfit.

Yep, someone's gotta be that mom! It's usually me.

Check in next Thursday for more embarrassing stories.

Mommy Needs Coffee

...is what my brand-new mug says! Thanks to the Jose family for letting my mug say what I feel pretty much every second of every day!

So anyway.

Sunday night was a great night! A bunch of my Yelp friends got together at Crop Bistro (one of my favorite restaurants in Cleveland) for their Sunday Supper. The concept is pretty awesome. Taken from their website:

Sunday Supper at Crop is a tradition carried over from Chef Steve’s former restaurant in Vermont. After a particularly busy weekend at the Mist Grill, Steve found himself preparing for Sunday service with a partially depleted larder. Rather than frantically trying to convince his purveyors to make special Sunday deliveries, Steve decided to flex his creative muscle and revise his standard menu to incorporate the ingredients he had at hand. The result? A bountiful three-course, family-style dinner that changes from week to week (and sometimes, even during the course of service!).

Relaxed and friendly, we love Sunday Suppers at Crop. Not only are they a great value for our guests, but they allow our staff’s creativity to take flight, resulting in special, one-of-a-kind meals that are as memorable as they are delicious.

All you need to do is choose your entree from the day’s choices, and we’ll take care of the rest — starting with a family style salad bowl over-flowing with seasonal ingredients, proceeding to your entree with sides, and finishing with dessert.

Our goal is to make you feel relaxed and at-home. As Steve likes to say, “Your grandma had it right: With little fuss and no menu, she created the most memorable meals of our childhoods!” We hope you’ll join us soon to enjoy Sunday Supper at Crop.

Cool, right? They give you three courses for only $25! Yelper Pam took some great pictures, including this nice one of us (Lorelei was blurry in all of them - she doesn't stop squirming!)



It was great to bring Lorelei out, which I am always worried about, but according to the description of the dinner, things are really relaxed. Plus, other yelpers brought their kids too.

So yesterday I finally bit the bullet and joined Weight Watchers again. I'm actually really excited. Because I've had success on the program in the past, and because I really don't have a ton of weight to lose, I am hoping that I can just nip this "spare tire syndrome" in the bud and feel happy in my clothes again. I do NOT want to go buy a bunch of new clothes! (Well, maybe an outfit or two when I lose the weight as a present to myself... ;)

I was thinking that Tuesdays were going to be my weigh-in/meeting day. But last week was hectic, and I didn't get there. And yesterday, Lei had a doctor's appointment which went over, so, no meeting (plus it's sort of hard to coordinate with Derek - he said he could watch her during my meeting, but I'd have to pump or feed her right before..) So I was looking online for other meeting options and there are actually two meetings on Saturday mornings, which would be so much better because then I can just get up, feed Lei, and then leave her with Derek instead of having to drop her off at his office. So, yay! I can't wait for my first meeting on Saturday.

Because I'm nursing, I actually get a bunch more points. There's also a new system (Points Plus), which incorporates more than just calories, fat, and fiber to determine values...so it'll be a bit of an adjustment. Actually, though, most of what I normally eat on WW (i.e., not a ton of processed food) have equal values to the old points. Plus, fruit is now free! HOLLA! And you get more points daily and for your weekly extra points too. So we'll see how this pans out. Yesterday I ate mostly normally, except I made an effort to do the following things:

• choose a salad for lunch instead of a burger
• have only one serving of my meal at dinner instead of going back for seconds
• choose EITHER dessert OR wine (Um, I chose wine!)

Other than that, I ate normally. I think this will be good, as long as I plan a bit, and make sure to stock the fridge/pantry with TONS of fruit and other healthy snacks. Of course, going to the supermarket is impossible today, because we have another lovely snowstorm on our hands..but I'll go tomorrow. 

Not sure exactly what my "starting weight" is...it fluctuates a ton depending on the time of day I weigh myself and what I've eaten that day. But I'll use the weight I got yesterday on my scale and then possibly update if it is very different at my first meeting.

Current Weight: 168.5

Goal Weight: 150

Mini-goal: 5% (8 lbs) = 160.5

So...here we go!

Weight Watching

Hmmm...I'm sitting here trying to decide whether or not to re-join Weight Watchers again.

This would be the third time, and I've had major success with the program the two other times I've been on it. Both times, thankfully, it didn't take me too long to get to a "Good weight" (i.e., the point where I feel like I like the way I look; I fit into my "goal jeans;" and the scale just....stops going down. Ha ha.) The first time it took about six months, the second, three (but I had significantly more weight to lose the first time).

The last time I did WW was from March-June(ish) of 2009.

This time, just like the last, I am just looking to lose about 10% of my body weight.

And there's a meeting today, somewhat nearby (or at least, close to Derek's office, so I can probably drop Lorelei off with him for the meeting).

The reservations?
1 - I am not sure if I have enough pumped for today, so I might have to take Lorelei to the meeting (not really wanting to do that). But that's just one day.
2 - I am not sure that I am "ready" to start a diet yet...well, I shouldn't say "diet," because it really isn't about depriving yourself, just restricting amounts and becoming more aware of things...I do know that I get a bunch more points because of breastfeeding. Hooray! But still, I can't even deal with getting dressed these days. Can I deal with making sure I'll have healthful meals each day?
3 - I don't really want to spend lots of money.

Well, I guess I can make this decision when it feels right. There's a 12:15 meeting each Tuesday, so if not today, then maybe next week?

The thing is, I KNOW I'll feel better if I lose some extra weight. But it's just hard to take that step right now. It really is a good time, because Derek just recently started a diet too...arg! Why am I arguing with myself over this? Ha ha. I think partially, it's because I'm sort of a slave right now to Lorelei's schedule. She is napping right now (thank god), so everything depends on when she gets up and when she eats, etc. etc. ARG!

Ok, I need to think about myself here too.

Any moms out there join (or re-join) WW post-partum? How did it go? I'd love to hear how the program works with breastfeeding and/or just raising a newborn. :)

Happy New Year!

These last few weeks have been filled with family, friends, cooking, shopping, and traveling. Some are better with a baby....and some aren't!

Being home again feels good. My own bed with my own pillows. My own shower and clothes that don't come out of a suitcase. All of Lorelei's stuff at hand instead of in bags. And she gets to "sleep" (ha ha) in her own crib too, instead of a pack and play! (Although she does enjoy the pack and play.)

Well, I guess it's 2011! What?! And time for some "ideal situations" (I wouldn't dare call them resolutions, and I really don't even want to call them goals, because then if they're not met, then they're just disappointments).

My Ideal Situations for 2011

• Get the hang of this whole baby thing. Or at least get a little better at balancing no sleep with all I have to do during the day.
• Run more races. A 5k to start, some 10ks, and 1-2 half marathons.
• IF and only IF I get into the NYC Marathon lottery, consider doing that one (or perhaps defer for  a year).
• Lose some/all of the "baby weight." Ideally: 15 pounds. But I'd settle for 10.
• Blog more. I like it, and don't usually give myself time to do it.
• Meet new people in the Cleveland area (ideally, other moms and/or runners).
• Look into a career change. That one, I have only recently been thinking about. Not to say that I definitely want to go back to school right away, or that I even definitely want to leave teaching, but...I want to consider other options, especially since I feel like I started teaching spontaneously (NYCTF program after college) without having a lifelong desire to do it. And I'm not totally sure that's what I want to do for the rest of my life. So anyway, I want to explore my options this year.

Here is a recent picture of Lorelei (although, seriously, there are SO MANY from over the holidays that it was hard to pick just one!):