A Special Christmas Gift

This past weekend the hubby started working on making Rileys play kitchen. He was in charge of building it and I was in charge of getting accessories together. I took a trip out to World Market and picked up knobs for the oven, a curtain to go underneath the sink and some "cooking" accessories. I am beyond excited for her to receive this gift at Christmas! She is going to love it!! I think I am going to paint it a similar color to the dining room table. I didn't want to make it to girly just in a case Avery wants to play with it later on. I will post a picture when it's all done!

Chalkboard Project

Last week I was browsing the Salvation Army and came across this awesome gold frame. Although it is plastic and didn't have any class or mirror I knew exactly what I was going to use it for. So I paid the $8.00 and took it home. I spray painted it white, took some left over wood from our garage and painted it with chalkboard paint. I then duct taped (the Merrill way) the board to the back of the frame. It hangs in our hallway, where I can see from the kitchen and I just love it! I love writing little notes on it. Right now we have our thankful list. Here is what everyone said they were thankful for: Avery and Riley (DJ), Our Home (Mommy), My Job (Daddy), Toys (Riley), Milk (Avery). And of course God who makes it all possible! It is nice to be reminded daily what we are thankful for!

Toot Toot!

My husband always says, "I don't mean to toot my own horn but..." Everytime it makes me laugh, because he says it a lot!
He told me yesterday that I should toot my own horn for a second. So here I go! I have been hitting the gym 5 days a week for 3 weeks in a row, COMPLETELY changed my eating habits, changed my portion size, blah blah blah. It has been hard but not as hard as I thought. Once I cut out the sweets (besides an occassional treat), I really didn't crave them anymore. I love to watch the Biggest Loser and on every episode before they go to break Bob or Jillian will give a little info-merical about a product. Every once in a while they will give healthy snack options, so I just follow that. Greek Yogurt, Almonds, Protein bar, apple (which a little peanut butter), etc. It has become so routine and my eating schedule is the same everyday. I get hungry at the same times, I don't feel sluggish (even though I am only getting about 5 hours of shut eye a night, Thakns Av!). And here comes the "toot" part...I finally dropped to a lower weight then before I got pregnant with Avery!!! I am not huge on weighing yourself, but when I told Jim my goal to lose 10lbs by Christmas (7 more to go!) he told me that if I did, I could go buy a nice pair of jeans, whatever kind I choose! Ummm...yes please! I am super competative, even with myself, so you better believe I am going to reach my goal!
I have another girlfriend who has a goal as well, her husband set up a little (actually big!) reward for her at the end. So it has been fun to do some work outs together and encourage eachother! I think having others around you to encourage you are key in your health and weight loss goals! Good luck!

Surgery.

All went well yesterday with Jim's knee surgery. He is in minimal pain and even walked on a tad yesterday, well, more like a hobble. He got a good nights rest lastnight so we will see how today goes. Avery literally cried the entire time he was in surgery and only stopped after we were in the recovery room with him. It was really sweet. But what wasn't sweet is Avery pretty much cried all yesterday. I am not really sure what is wrong, but I think he is teething (already!) because his shirt is soaked more of the day from drool and he can't keep his hands out of his mouth!

I am hoping for a restful weekend!

Sleepless Nights

Avery just hit his 4 month mark and he decided to celebrate by consistently getting up about 5 times per night! Needless to say, I am exhausted. Our pediatrician recommended Jim giving him a 4-6oz bottle of pumped milk once per night to see if this would cure the problem. After searching for the right bottle and Avery finally taking a bottle, lastnight we tried it. Can I say BIG FAIL! Jim said he drank about 1/2 an ounce an fell right back asleep! So he was up 1 1/2 hour after that ready to eat again. Riley also woke up crying at 2am so needless to say, I was up all night. We are going to try again tonight, but Jim is having knee surgery tomorrow so after tonight, I am on my own until next week! This has been an especially hard and trying time for me but I know it's temporary. I am eagerly anticipating a full night sleep. Riley slept through the night at a year, so if Avery does the same, what's another 8 months of no sleep?! Yeah, we'll see if I make it that far!

On a lighter note, tonight is date night. This will be a good refreshing time for Jim and I before his surgery tomorrow. I have a cow bell that I am going to let him use if he needs help after the surgery, it should be pretty funny!

Progress and Randomness

I am on day 6 of no SODA and day 5 of NO SWEETS (and all around eating healthier)! I decided to stay home all day today, I think we just needed some down time. But I find that the days I am home it is so much harder not to dip into the Halloween candy, but I have held strong! Riley, Avery and I go to the farmers market every Weds on our way home from the gym. I really tried to buy outside of my normal list and REALLY tried to buy organic. It is so much fun to be able to buy the fruits and veggies with Riley. She helps me pick them out and then at dinner time is very excited to serve them to daddy. Although it hasn't helped with her veggie intake at all, I can't help but think I am instilling something in her.

Back to the eating healthier, I am hungry all the time! It really has forced me to eat small meals more times a day. I eat the same thing that I cook for everyone else at dinner time, just a smaller portion, which has ALWAYS been my downfall. Put a big meal in front of me and I will eat the whole thing, even when I am full!

On to more important things, we had Averys 4 month appointment yesterday. He is 15lbs 6oz (birth weight was 8lbs 10oz) and is 26 inches (21 inches at birth). I cannot believe how much he has grown! He also got 5 shots and lastnight he wasn't feeling up to par. We gave him some tylenol and he felt a lot better. He has a new fascination with this tongue and he blows bubbles with his saliva. He smiles ALL the time and giggles when I tickle him. He can sit in the bumbo seat alone and loves to watch me cook. He definitely is a mamas boy and just loves to lay on my chest. Riley couldn't be more in love with him. At first she wasn't really interested in him but lately she talks to him, soothes him and gives him kisses. I cannot wait to see the friendship (and I am sure bickering!) all 3 of our kids are going to have. Jim and I are truly blessed by our kids!

Health

As we all know, losing the weight after having a baby can be quite difficult. My biggest problem is eating like I am still pregnant. Because I am breastfeeding, I get these out of control urges to eat! If you have ever breastfed, you know what I'm talkin about! We were just on vacation for a week, which means we ate out ALOT! And when you have 3 kids, a drive thru is the most convenient. We packed a lot of snacks but ate horribley!
We got home and a couple of days later I had a Halloween cookie decorating party for Riley and friends, so of course I ate a ton of cookies! You see, I am a total sweets junkie. Anything chocolate I will eat, literally. But this time after having the sweets I felt sick, really sick. I felt heavy and tired. I came to a realiztion, and this is not rocket science but I am slow, eat bad = feel bad! See, I told you, not that hard to figure out, but for some reason I just wasn't getting it!!

Having a newborn (well, almost 4 months!) is exhausting. He gets up a lot at night and I mean alot! So I really need to get as much rest and have as much energy during the day that can. I can't get this eating unhealthy. So I went to a blog that I have been reading for a while now and searched her side bar for the topic of health. She had been feeling stroke like symptoms for EIGHT years and it only changed once she changed her diet! Wow, it scared me! I mean, I am not feeling stroke like symptoms but I am tired a lot, sluggish, irritable, my skin doesn't look good, I have been having headaches, etc. I ran across this post and I knew I was hooked. I love reading a health blog written by a Dr. It's like being in her office without having to pay!

So here is what I am doing, nothing drastic but I am not eating ANY sweets(ok, maybe a 100calorie Dreyers bar sometimes!), cutting out Diet Soda, eating WAY more veggies, watching my portion size, eating organic meats, drinking more water, and during snack time I will reach for an apple with a little peanut butter rather than an unfilling unhealthy snack. I am going to continue my work out routine. Let me be clear here, of course I want to lose weight but more importantly I want to be the best ME I can be. This means taking care of ME. Not only will I benefit from this, my husband and kids will to. This is going to be a struggle during Halloween but if I had a natural labor, I can do anything!