What's up

So I had a goal to do more and blog more, and things have been going pretty well. Part of my goal (inside my head) was to just be happy with what I did get done each day even if it wasn't as much as I'd hoped for. I have been trying to do at least one extra (non-basic) thing each day - though some of my non-basic things are probably other people's basic things...

I actually have been blogging more - I just haven't posted all that many. I have a hard time keeping things short - and sometimes as I start writing things and getting personal I have to think about what I really want to include for the public eye and what not to, or I just want to add some photos or more stories and don't have time to. So I have a few unpublished drafts.

Just wanted to do a quick (for me) update unpublished drafts aside. Some random things so I don't go overboard with it.

I've started exercising again! I'm using TV shows I can watch on my Ipod to motivate me - saving them up for when I'm riding the recumbent bike.

It seems like whenever I especially want to get more things done the thing I most need to do more is sleep. However, I think when I do get more sleep it actually helps me lose weight. Just need Sierra to consistently cooperate.

Sierra has passed the 9 month mark and I need to post some new pictures because I have some super cute ones! She has 6 teeth and is working on 7 - 10. Today I walked out of the living room for a second and when I came back in she was standing on top of a storage container of toys Mike sticks in front of a little decorative table of my parents in order to block her from it - hands up on the table to reach some books she wanted to eat. Man, she looked tall. They just grow faster, I think, the more kids you have. She still hasn't figured out that she could easily crawl under the ottoman that we use to block her in the front room, but unfortunately she is getting closer to learning how to crawl up and over it. She is so much more into everything than Lily was as a baby. I figured that would happen - though Lily is getting more into everything now!

Lily has been running a non-stop valentine shop for 3 days - making valentines for friends and family. She couldn't wait for me to help. She is so excited for tomorrow. We're spending the day as a family and planning to use our passes to go to the zoo. Mike has been working so hard trying to launch his new career - like all day every day...he is either working at it or thinking about it - it will be nice to have a day just to think about our family and have some fun!

Lily got to a hard spot in the reading lessons we have been doing. Not that the material was that much harder, maybe just a little monotonous. She's been having a hard time staying focused on her lessons so much that they started to take about 4 times as long as they should with us all getting way too frustrated. I really didn't want to give up on them when she hadn't finished them all and she was so close to getting her promised reward, but I seriously considered it. I don't want to make reading something she dreads - though with her love for library books I doubt that will really happen once she gets more proficient. We tried different unsuccessful methods of motivating her, and then switched things up by alternating days with some math lessons too. Finally I figured out just reformatting the lesson in the book on a piece of paper so it didn't have all the instructions for the parent and it looked shorter, and skipping some of the repetitiveness has helped her get though it much better. I've also learned a few techniques in the way I talk to her about it that help her get back on track. If I can just remember what worked and what didn't :) I think she will make it through the end and get her trip to the movies. And she's gotten better at counting and recognizing numbers - she no longer skips 15!

So we're plugging along, thoughts of Kindergarten looming on the horizon. Getting used to being a family of four and trying to get used to new responsibilities and make new routines. Oh, life! I am so glad for silly little holidays that mean so much to kids and the kid in me and remind us to do a little something extra fancy and fun now and again. Hope you all have a lovely Valentine's!

Taking Control

I joined a free calorie counting website called myfitnesspal.com and I love it so I thought I'd share the goodness. I have been doing it for about 3 weeks with a goal to lose a pound a week, and I've lost 3 pounds!

Yeah, I know 3 pounds doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm stoked about it! For the past couple of months I have just felt like my weight has just been slowly but steadily increasing out of my control, so to see it in the reverse and actually be making a habit of exercise! (ME!) is pretty exciting stuff. Trust me. I think I could actually become addicted to it, and I have never been a fan of physical exercise. Not the 'I'm doing this just to get exercise' kind anyway. Now I am more open to that - better than doing nothing!

I set a goal for myself to exercise every weekday for at least a half hour. I've been riding my mom's recumbent bike which hasn't been a problem for my knee, and which shows you how long you've been going, how many miles, and how many calories you are burning. This has been great for me because you can enter than info into my fitness pal, and as I've been tracking myself I quickly became motivated to go longer than a half an hour to burn more and more calories. I like how my fitness pal tells me 'You've earned x amount of calories from exercise.'

Tracking what I eat has been really good for me. I like good food, but am not much of a snacker, and don't indulge in all the candy and junk I used to when I was a kid. After having Lily I lost all the pregnancy weight I'd gained. Then I found out I had graves disease. Hyperthyroid and breastfeeding are probably what helped me lose that weight, because I didn't even try. When I was going forward with the thyroid treatment the doctors kept telling me I would gain some weight. I thought if I was careful to watch what I ate that wouldn't happen to me. After stopping breastfeeding, having radiation treatment and taking thyroid supplement to raise my thyroid to normal levels my weight has increased. So I honestly kind of felt like my recent weight gain was largely the result of my thyroid condition and therefore somewhat out of my control.  So rather than just blame my weight gain on all that - it's been so good for me to see just how many calories are in the different foods and drinks I was eating and see that I can take more control over this part of my life than I was trying to before. So far I haven't made too many changes to what I eat, but I don't eat out as much, I cut out a lot of juice, am more aware of portion sizes, and am making more effort to balance what I eat each day to stay under my calorie goal. And I'm motivated to exercise so I can either lose weight faster or eat more delicious things - depending on the day.

It is nice to think of how the choices I make one day at a time will help turn me into the person I want to be. It makes me feel like a day without exercise is a day wasted towards reaching that goal. I'm glad I am exercising in addition to watching what I eat, because I want to feel stronger and have more energy and endurance not just weigh less.

I just want to remind myself of a few things I've been experiencing with this lifestyle change that I may tend to forget, and that might help motivate myself and others who are trying to do the same thing:

Exercise actually feels really good once I get going. When I exercise I often get more energy!

Taking charge of my weight makes me feel more in control and more positive in other aspects of my life. (It's not just 3 weeks and 3 pounds it's been an unexpected boost to my self-esteem.)

I'd rather be fit and feel good about myself than indulge in delicious food right now that isn't even good for my body.

My choices will have an effect on Lily and the choices she makes to shape her life.

Resolutions

I haven't made New Year's Resolutions in years, and didn't really this year either. I don't know if I feel like tying it to the new year it is destined to fail, or what. I think I just prefer to make goals on my own time. I feel like if I'm really serious about them why wait for January 1st? I've had an unwritten goal about my fun computer time - which includes blogging. I guess it's in writing now! So you may not see me updating as often as of yore, but then again - maybe some of the other changes I'm making will help me manage my time better so I can. My goal is not to do what I consider fun (unnecessary) things on the computer during the day, when Lily's napping or awake entertaining herself. I want to spend those hours on more important things I need to take care of, and not have my back to Lily sitting at the computer, even for a few minutes (it always goes longer than I intend). I'd rather she see me working around the house and doing more hands on things than that, and giving her more attention too. If I have any time to wind down at night I can blog then - if Mike and I aren't spending all the time together. I have a lot of important things I keep putting off and so if I focus my daylight time on those I'll be able to put them behind me - which will relieve a lot of stress!

I've been reading a parenting book I'd had on hold at the library - still haven't gotten to the one I bought, but already I've identified some good changes to make in how I react and act with Lily. I have seen some good results and had an excellent last couple of days with her (aside from the bedtime tantrum last night -- it did go well tonight!) She's been a happier sweeter kid. Mostly it involves being more regular and firm with our routine, tying consequences that fit the bad behavior rather than just giving time outs, and my favorite tip - not reacting too emotionally when she misbehaves. I was seriously at a loss at what to do about her hitting us. It started small, but over the last couple of weeks was really getting worse. One day instead of my usual reaction - I just let her hit me and see that it didn't really hurt me and talked to her about her emotions and what I could do to help her. I thought maybe if I just let her while being sweet to her she'd feel worse about it and stop. Well, I was partly on the right track. It's not good to let her continue to hit, but letting her know hitting doesn't change what she is mad about without giving her the satisfaction of making me upset has made a difference. Along with giving her the more emotional reaction over positive things. I guess kids just like to see their parents fired up, we're just going to try to only do so for good behavior. Working on that poker face. I'm also looking forward to putting more of her issues back in her hands to help her come up with solutions on her own. She is growing in understanding so I shouldn't try to fix everything for her. She is too much of her own person for that! It's hard to switch that mindset from taking care of a baby to a kid! I know we will still have struggles, but I feel like I have some better tools for managing rough spots ahead. So I highly recommend reading parenting books even if you think your instincts are good enough. There's always room for improvement. I got a new perspective and feel more confident and positive about how I handle things.