I finally did it...

...I bought my first pair of "Mom jeans." Sigh.

I fought it for a while. I kept squeezing my post-pregnancy body into pre-pregnancy jeans, pretending that they fit just the same. But...as jeans got worn out and my closet dwindles down to nothing, I realized that it was high time to invest in a new pair of jeans.

And by invest, I mean spend as little as possible on a pair of jeans that suitably fits me. And that's tough...before LBB, when I was working full time and Dear Sweet Hubby was working full time, and when we didn't flinch at using those stupid credit cards, I didn't bat an eye spending $80 on a pair of jeans. Now though? Totally different story.

So, off I went to Target (to get eggs...which I forgot and had to make a second trip to the grocery store for.) While LBB and Dear Sweet Hubby looked at toys, I hunted through the clothes department.

And literally tried almost every jean on. Ugh. Not one of them fit right. I tried two dresses on. (They were cute, but still kind of "eh") I tried on a cute leggings and shirt outfit that I may go back and get. But I walked in and out of that dressing room at least 6 times. And then finally...I walked past them for the last time and picked them up.

Tummy slimming. Lifting. And one size larger that my worn out jeans. I sighed. Shuffled to the dressing room. And tried them on.

And they fit. :)

Of course they did. They are made for Moms, right? But I do have to say...aside from knowing that the waist is a bit higher than my low rise pre-child jeans, they are just as cute. Make me feel just as comfortable.

And cost me WAY less. So, here I am, Mom-Jeans world. :)

Although I do have a goal to find a cute pair of skinny jeans that I can wear with my boots...that's my next quest. Wish me luck.

Eating Healthy...

...and it rocks.

Since the post I wrote last week about eating healthy, I have been focused. We went to Whole Foods and stocked up on some nutritious food. We went to a local co-op and got a few other things that we found there. I've made granola. Made whole wheat french toast. Ate more fruit in the past few days than I have in a month. And just in general ate so much better than I have before. Not to mention...no Pepsi! (OK...I had one today, but it was disappointing, so that is a good sigh.)

And I remind myself of this thing I read about having a nutritious diet: "80% is perfection." So, the crescent dogs and chips we had for dinner tonight...that's ok, because tomorrow I will be back on track.

It feels so good to be taking care of myself and my family like this. I know that we are making changes to have a healthy future. And when I see my LBB begging for a banana in the store and passing up a cookie, it makes me smile. He's been healthy all along, it's time for Mommy and Daddy to follow suit. :)

And while those crescent dogs sure did taste yummy tonight, afterwards, I just didn't feel as well as I have the past few nights. I think that's a good sign, right? And I think it's even better of a sign when my steak and potatoes hubby says to me "When are you making a dish with lentils again? I really like those."

Hoorah for good eating. :)

We've figured it out.

LBB is an early riser.

And I mean early. Like, 6 am is sleeping in. :)

So, on Dear Sweet Hubby's days off, there used to be a slight disagreement on sleeping in. I was tired from waking up at 5 am every day amd then chasing crazy toddler boy around. Dear Sweet Hubby is tired from waking up at 5 am everyday and then working and commuting. Both valid arguments. But no compromise. Right?

Wrong! We figured it out. On days when it is possible to not have to be anywhere by 8 am when Dear Sweet Hubby is off, we got a routine going. We takes turns on who gets to sleep in first. They get to sleep for an hour after LBB wakes up. Then it's the other person's turn to take a "nap."

Does this make us lazy? I don't think so...I think we finally figured out how to get enough rest with a tot who likes to be up before even the birds are awake for the day. :) And it's nice to get that quiet time while sleeping, and equally nice for the one on one time in the morning with LBB (especially for Dear Sweet Hubby.) Plus, we get the day started at 8 am at the latest, and that means we aren't missing much in comparison to most "normal" family's days off together. :)

Ah, compromise. What a beautiful thing.

Preschool Weekly Wrap Up #2

Hello! I haven't written much this week...Dear Sweet Hubby took a 4 day mini-vacation so we've been busy just relaxing and spending some time together. This week we learned about Fire Prevention Week and read "The Very Busy Spider" by Eric Carle. What a fun week it was! Here's what we learned:

• LBB went on a field trip to the fire station with Daddy and his PaPa. He had tons of fun. :) He says "MIMI" when he sees a fire truck, ambulance, or police car, and was running up to the firetrucks yelling "MIMI". He really wanted the firemen to turn on the sirens, but they couldn't because they didn't want to scare the other kiddos. LBB doesn't get scared of sirens at all, and just adores hearing them up close. :) (And why MIMI? Well...Mommy isn't very good at making American sounding sirens, so she makes European sirens. Think "Meeeeooooo. Meeeeeooooo. Meeeeooooo." It drives Dear Sweet Hubby crazy that I taught him that siren sound. Haha.)


• He is also on a bug kick right now. He learned how to say "bug" this week, and when he was at the firehouse he saw a fly land in the middle of the garage, yelled "BUG!" and ran over to point it out. :)


• We've been reading his Usborne Touch and Feel Puppies book, and on the second page there is a dog with a bee on his nose. LBB yells "Uh-Oh! Bug!" And then takes his pointer finger, makes a buzzing noise, and has the "bee" land on your nose. Then he laughs hysterically. :) Way too funny. He also swats at our hands if we pretend to be the bee.


• LBB made the most adorable fire truck this week...I haven't taken a picture, but I cut one large red rectangle, two black circles, one small white rectangle, and one long white rectangle and he helped glue them on and placed the pieces where he wanted them. It turned out really well!


• He's learned lots of new words and has associated a few of them together: moon (which he said a while ago but then stopped saying). Sky, Bike, Wind, Bee, and Bug. And tonight while trying to go potty, he was looking at his Batman cupholder, and pointed to the moon, said "Moon. Sky." I love that he associated the two!!!!


• And speaking of the potty...he went potty once a day for four days in a row! WOOHOO! He has sat on the potty the past two days and didn't go, but he is still trying and that is what matters! That's the joy of starting this early...we are taking it at his pace, and he is loving it. We haven't had any tantrums over the potty issue, and he is doing things at his speed.


• We also went to the zoo this week (for free! You can't beat that!) We rode the Monorail for the first time with LBB, which he loved. He pointed out all the "GEESE" to our car-mates, explored to his hearts content, got to ride in the wagon of a tractor ride. He loved the penguin exhibit and was probably the most excitable kid watching them. He also spent a lot of time in the Toddler room climbing, singing, dancing, and charming the "ladies" into reading him a story. Ah, he makes me laugh.

So, that's our week. We didn't focus on as much schooling as I planned, but between his field trips, potty training, and lots of Daddy time, I'm not complaining. :) Hope your week was just as wonderful! Check back tomorrow for a few more posts!

I Mean It This Time

(Pardon the plethora of blog posts tonight...I've been thinking of all these for a few days now and finally took the time to write them.)

I've been saying for a year or so now that I was going to start eating better. Exercising more than I do (which means...at least once a week should fix that, haha). And cutting out this terrible Pepsi addiction.

So, starting tomorrow after we go grocery shopping, I am no longer going to be unhealthy. I've got a list of foods I should be eating. I'm limiting myself to ONE pepsi a day (because let's be honest, there is no way I can go cold turkey right now...I always end up going a day or two and then having four in one day. Not the best plan.) And I'm going to start getting up and moving more, even if it is just dancing with LBB to his music.

I'm tired of feeling yucky and knowing that it is having an effect on my body. I hate that feeling. So...here's to a new me. :) It's all about mind over matter, and I'm going to try my hardest to be strong on this.

A Lesson in Gentleness

The other night, after LBB was sound asleep and Dear Sweet Hubby was relaxing, I took a much needed Mommy's night out and went to (drumroll please...):

The dollar store.

Oh, yeah, this Mommy knows how to rock her quiet time. ;)

And at the dollar store, I bought tons of goodies for LBB's preschool and 3 snowflakes for our patio. (See, I spoiled myself, haha.) AND...I bought "Mexican Jumping Beans".

I thought there was an off chance that LBB might enjoy them. I thought right. Since introducing him to his little "caterpillars" (we make sure we avoid the term "bean" lest he thinks it is a nommy) he has shown a gentleness that is heart melting and adorable. He quietly whispers "shhhh" when he is telling them goodnight. He softly picks them up and places on the carpet, which he observes as soon as he lays on his belly and props himself up with his arms.

He makes sure the kitties stay away from them. He puts them softly back in their new home (a snack container), and hands them back to me to put up on the counter. It is really the sweetest thing, and a lesson that he was greatly in need of due to his extreme toddler tendencies. :) Who would've figured that for a dollar, I could find a sweet little treat for LBB to learn what it means to be gentle? Not me, that's for sure.

OH, and if you want to read up a bit on these cool little things, check out this article! I'm going to do some research so I can make sure these little guys live for a while.

Story+Art "The Very Busy Spider" by Eric Carle (Spider Craft)

Well, that's a pretty long title...but I wanted to make sure that it could be differentiated because we plan on doing some more crafts about this book this week!

Yesterday on our way to the zoo, I was talking with Dear Sweet Hubby about how I didn't think LBB was necessarily interested in focusing on a letter a week (in addition to a weekly theme.) And then I started talking about how he seemed much more interested in reading the same book over and over and over for a week, and it dawned on me...

Why don't I focus on one story and do a few projects throughout the week that tie into that story. Think story+art, along with a little learning (like a field trip that ties in), and voila...my hybrid of preschool for toddler. :) We are still going to do a weekly theme, but this replaces the major focusing on the alphabet...he's not even 2 yet, so we can postpone that (although we do still point letters out, of course.)

At the zoo, LBB fell in love with "The Very Busy Spider" by Eric Carle (and tried to get a little girl he met to read it to him...what a charmer.) So, of course, I bought it for him, because it is for his preschool, after all...sooooo, that makes it ok. ;)

We decided to do his first project with the book today. A sweet little Paper Towel tube spider. Read on for directions!

The materials we used: A paper towel tube, cut to about 1 1/2 inches. A piece of black construction paper, cut to a length to fit around the tube with a little bit of overlap. 8 pieces of construction paper (cut 1/2" by 3 1/4"), and two wiggly eyes. (Because what kind of spider is it if it doesn't have wiggly eyes.)

LBB had a blast trying to make a glue fountain. :) I put the construction paper around the tube for him, since he is so little...I used invisible tape because it was quicker.

Inspecting the glue bottle before starting his project. We started with a little glue on the end of one leg, and put the leg on the inside of the tube. LBB got about halfway through and decided he was done gluing, so I used tape on the rest and tape to reinforce. After all the legs are attached to the inside, I folded them at the edge of the tube so they sat nicely. This becomes the bottom.

Then, just add a little glue to the eyes (or use those fancy self adhesive ones if you have them...I'm beginning to think they would be worth the investment), and you have a cute little spider. :) LBB's favorite part of any project like this is always gluing the eyes on...it's quite adorable.