Anything for my son

I am a brave woman. I've been told that before but now I really believe it. You see, I agreed to let my son have a few friends over for a slumber party. That means the number of kids in my house doubled. And the boys outnumbered the girls.

It wasn't really so bad, though. The girls didn't terrorize the boys and the boys stayed pretty much to themselves. They played with their gameboys, they watched movies, they ate lots of gummy worms. They stayed up until the wee hours in the morning. They woke up at 7 am. They are insane. They are loud. Only once did someone get kicked in the face. No one fought. It was a wonderful time.

Last night I asked Ro if he had a good time at his slumber party. He got a very big grin and said yes. That made it all worth it.

Sticking to your diet is easy if you have the right motivations

As you might or might not know, I've been keeping a food diary to help me keep track of what, and how much, I eat. It's been going very well and I've lost about 4 pounds now in the past 3 weeks. Yay, me!

Portion size is my issue. I usually make very healthy choices but even too much of a good thing is too much. The food diary keeps me accountable. If I eat it, I enter it. I've used my measuring cups, spoons, and the food scale more than I ever thought I would.

Today I made popcorn for our afternoon snack. I carefully measured out 2 cups, entered it in the food diary, and then ate it slowly to make it last. When I finished it, I thought about the big bowl Lili was eating from. Just one more cup won't be bad. I'll go get just a little more. I walked into the family room where she was watching a show and there she was, with her feet in the bowl, crunching the popcorn with her toes. Suddenly, I didn't want anymore popcorn. In fact, I have no appetite at all now.

Man-Shoes

Today I am wearing my man-shoes. I wore them yesterday, too, because they are Eccos which have much better support than my regular, more feminine, shoes. Now, don't get me wrong. I love these shoes. But they really aren't very feminine and it's amazing how much less feminine I feel when I wear them. So my goal for today is to find feminine Eccos. I want something that isn't clunky, that I can wear with skirts to work.The reason it is very important for me to get new shoes today is because my man-shoes don't look very good with skirts. And I don't have many pants that fit me anymore. In fact, I only have one pair of pants that fit and I wore them yesterday. What am I wearing today, you ask? I found an pair of Bob's pants that are too small for him in the back of the closet this morning. They aren't very flattering but they fit comfortably.Blech.

Pain in the Foot

Sometimes, the universe comes around and kicks you in the butt. Other times, it kicks you in the foot. Not long after I posted about my kids' aversion to socks, and my tendency to not wear shoes or socks, I get the worst orders from the doctor. He told me I have plantar fasciitis and I need to wear good supportive shoes at all times. AT ALL TIMES. Ok, maybe not when I'm sleeping. But the point is, even at home, I have to wear shoes. Walking around barefoot is one of the worst things I can do.

Oh, cruel universe! What have I done to deserve this?

And on top of that irony (or is it just coincidence?), this is all because I started getting more exercise too fast and too enthusiastically.

Socks

I remember as a kid that socks were always giving me trouble. I had to put them on just right or they would cause excruciating pain as soon as I put on my shoes.

Socks don't get to me personally anymore but, as a parent, I still have a constant struggle with them. I battle socks everyday. Sometimes I win that battle, but I'm kidding myself if I think I could ever win the war.

I have one child who can't manage to put her dirty socks in the laundry room, even if it meant saving her life. If you think my car smells funny, it's probably because there are about 5 dirty pairs stuffed under the seats. Then she yells at me when she doesn't have any clean socks to wear. I wearily shake my head.

I have one child who has such sensitive feet that we have to buy the most expensive socks there are. It's as if he can feel every thread and if even one is out of place he is immobilized with pain. The expensive ones cause less pain apparently.

I have another child who doesn't like to wear socks at all. Have you ever smelled the tennis shoes of a child who won't wear socks? You would swear that something had died in those shoes.

I know that these idiosyncrasies were inherited from me. I don't like to wear socks, either, but I know when I need to. And I know how to put them in the laundry room at the end of the day.

Maybe their struggles will lessen as my kids get older, as they did with me. And then the cycle will continue as they have kids of their own. In a perverse way, this makes me very happy.

such a cheeky monkey

Yesterday Bob and Lili decided to spend the day together at home. Bob did some work while Lili played with play-doh all morning. Around noon, Lili called to tell me they were going to Taco Banana to get some lunch.

A Geek in the Making

I suppose it's genetic but we have another Geek in the making. Or already made, if you want to get technical about it. Lili has discovered that amazing gadget called The Computer.

It started just before christmas. Somehow she found some games K-girl used to play when she was 3 or 4. (Personally, I'm blaming K-girl for this whole situation.) Suddenly, Putt Putt and Freddi Fish became her best friends. Then she found Barbie Riding Club. It's got Barbie and horses! And for christmas, her father encouraged her even more and got her a My Little Pony cd-rom. Over the weekend, we went shopping and Lili found another game with Barbie and ponies and parades.

Yesterday, Lili's 4 year old friend commented in frustration, "She's always on The Computer!"

The sad thing for me is, it's supposed to be My Computer.

2005 turns into 2006

Today is the first day of the new year and I've realized that I really haven't looked ahead yet. I suppose it's because I haven't reflected on the past year yet and it seems like a prerequisite. In 2004, I made sure to do more for myself and I think I did that to the extreme at times. In 2005, I wanted to spend more of my energy on my family. Bob and I didn't go out nearly as much, partly because of the high expense of babysitters, and I feel like I became more of a homebody. My desire to stay home instead of working really grew during this past year and I think that has contributed to my unprecedented lack of motivation at work. So the pendulum swings from one end to the other -- party girl to homemaker.

2005 was a good year for me, even if it seems to be lacking of anything major or important. One thing that did happen that is significant to me is a tapping into my creative side. This is something I intend to explore further in 2006. But 2006 really needs to be the year of balance. I need to get out and see people more. I've already put into place some plans to see people on a more regular basis. Maybe I'll even do a monthly dinner party, similar to what Jenna did in 2005, just to be able to see more people.

I also plan to keep up with the kids' homework and the goings on at school. I've done fairly well so far this school year. We've got a science fair project this month and I know that will keep us busy. My part in that project will be to keep K-girl on task, which is a bigger job than one might think.

Another thing I really need to do this year is to get re-energized at work. I'm not sure yet how to do this. It's possible I just need a change of scenery since I've been in my current job for 3 1/2 years with no changes in duties. I'll have to think about that more.

Finally, I do need to take better care of myself physically. The recent "when are you due?" situation hit that one home for me. I already started working on a monthly meal plan, complete with shopping list, to help on that front and I need to make sure I fit in exercise more consistently. The past month, I have been taking the stairs at work every day and that will surely help make a difference since I work on the 6th floor.

I wouldn't consider any of these things resolutions because they aren't things to "start" today. I've already been doing them. I just need to keep them up.

My fantasy goal for 2006 is to save and plan for a real vacation. One where we actually go somewhere just to have fun, with no agenda. One that doesn't involve visiting family. We'll see how that one works out.

Happy New Year, everyone!