New Beginnings

When I started this blog, I was looking for an outlet. I'd always been a writer and, more importantly, a voracious reader. One of the best ways I process information is by writing my thoughts out. So it is only natural that after many years of neglecting this side of myself that I really NEEDED to return to writing. Not professional writing, but cathartic writing. THAT is what I loved doing in the past. Writing to work out and analyze literature, but also writing to work out my own thoughts on my life.

Monkey's pregnancy and birth really took an emotional toll on me, opening my eyes up to a new world that I was not aware of before in many different aspects of my life. I had never fathomed attempting an unmedicated birth, breastfeeding for longer than 6 months, babywearing, delayed vaccinations, cloth diapering, etc. NONE of these things were even on my radar. So the entire experience not only opened my eyes, it changed my entire frame of reference, giving me a new perspective on life in general.

10 Parenting Principles I Wish I'd Known: Episode Five

5) Family Time is Important. And Necessary. And Intimidating. But It Shouldn't Be.

Some families have great traditions from early on. Family Game Night. Pizza Night. Movie Night. Lots of things that the family does together that strengthens the bond they share.

Those families are lucky.

Then you have families that struggle to find that family time. Families that get lost in the daily grind of work, school, etc. Families who spend a lot of their "down time" reading and watching TV in separate rooms. Not really the best way to strengthen family bonds.

Many of the families that fall into Category B want to find more meaningful family time, but it can be intimidating.

In today's world, we are flooded with images of "perfect" families. Don't get me wrong, we also see dysfunctional families and lots of other things. But how many times have you been watching TV and run across a show that shows some family spending time together, looking so happy, usually after resolving some big drama much more easily than you ever could in real life. Or seen the same thing in a movie. Or ran across a book or magazine with a magic list of fun things to do with your family. And searching for "fun things to do with my family" yields over 308 million hits on Google.

So many people get stuck trying to figure out the best way to spend time with their family.

Go to the park? Go to a ball game? Go camping? Amusement park? Gardening? Trip out of town? Cooking? Swimming? Scavenger hunt? Game Night? Movies? Zoo? Bowling? Laser Tag? Scrapbook? Play Barbies? Bakugan? Build a fort? Talent Show? Fly a kite?

Feeling overwhelmed yet?

So many people get so caught up in trying to figure out what to DO for family time that they get overwhelmed and end up not doing anything that they feel is "special" family time. Sure, you still spend time together as a family, but you are not doing the activities that make you FEEL like you are getting that special bonding time.

I had always thought that I would be "that mom." You know, the one that bakes cookies with her kids weekly, has family game night once a week, plans a new activity each weekend, etc. We'd go camping one weekend, bowling the next, day trips to the zoo, etc.

Then I had kids. And it can be EXHAUSTING just getting through the daily grind, let alone planning and executing special family time.

Hubby and I both have full-time jobs. He is very involved in several fraternal organizations. I am involved in several things of my own. Sassy and Diva have school. And Monkey is a toddler. 'Nuff said. We have some responsibility or activity almost every weekend. Out of the next 6 weekends, each one has at least 1 major event except one. Evenings during the week involve coming home from work/school, dinner, homework, and bedtime routine. Not a lot of space for additional family activities other than our usually already packed weekends.

So I understand how overwhelming it can be to make time for quality family time. I get it.

But do you know what I have realized?

We don't NEED to plan and execute special family time to HAVE special family time.

It has taken me some time to learn this lesson, mostly because I had all these grand ideas of what quality family time should be. Like when you are in the kitchen and you envision yourself as Julia Child, Anthony Bourdain, or Rachel Ray. And really you are burning grilled cheese and overcooking your pasta.

Let me give you an example. A few weekends ago, we had events and meetings on Saturday. On Sunday, we spent some time at my MIL's in the morning, then had a birthday part early in the afternoon. Afterwards, we had a few hours free until dinnertime. So we decided to get the family out to enjoy the spring weather. Just spur of the moment, we decided to head for a local park.

Nothing fancy.
No big activities.
Just a small playground and a scenic overlook of our city.

We let the kids play on the playground

Monkey monkeyed around with Hubby's help

Sassy struck a pose on one of the cannons

Diva struck a pose on top of the playground

I even tried to get a family photo of all 3 kids. And failed. Monkey looks most unhappy. And slightly constipated.

But it was still a great time. We were there for a little over an hour at a small park less than 10 minutes from our home. It just goes to show you that some of the most special quality family time you will spend is unscripted and spontaneous instead of orchestrated and meticulously planned.

You don't have to make big plans to spend time with your family.

Just DO it and memories will happen.

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 10

Psssssssst......

Want to hear a secret?
I skipped posting last week.
I decided I was so busy with work, kids, etc. that I was going to skip a week.

Want to hear another secret?
I actually gained 1lb during the last 2 weeks.

One last secret?
I don't care because my clothes are still getting looser.

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 5

Another week bites the dust! Looking back, I don't think I did that bad this past week. I worked out 2 times. I was below my calorie count every day except one, when I only went over 34 calories. So when I hopped on the scale this morning, I was excepting to be down a little, maybe a pound. And the verdict is:

Yep...I'm actually up 0.2lbs from last week.

Tomato Garlic Baked Tilapia

We tried out a new recipe tonight. I loved it, and while it wasn't a huge hit with the entire family, I had enough of a success to make it again. Everyone in my family has very different food personalities. Hubby is very "meat &  potatoes," which makes it hard for me sometimes since I like to add in lots of veggies and fruit. He hates seafood unless it is sushi or unless he is "within a stone's throw of the ocean." I love fish and would love to have it more often.

Sassy loves her carbs, potatoes are the only veggie she will eat and not complain, and she only eats some chicken and salisbury steak. Diva hates most meat unless it is chicken tenders, but loves veggies and will eat her weight in salad. Monkey is my garbage disposal and will literally eat anything I put in front of him.

So, needless to say, trying to find new recipes are difficult in our house. I usually try to compromise and include at least 1 thing that each person will eat, but that usually ends up with us eating the same things over and over.

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 4

This past week was rough. We were preparing for Monkey's birthday party, which caused some rushing around and stress, which then led to poor food choices. But I was still able to stay below my daily calorie goal each day.

Mind Your Own Vag....

Ok. That was a little blunt. But, seriously people...Mind your OWN Vag.
Let me explain what I mean.

This is a lovely phrase I picked up during my pregnancy with Monkey from an online parenting forum. As all forums go, there was arguing about every single detail regarding the pregnancy and the postpartum stage.

WARNING!
I am going into Exaggeration Mode.

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 2

One week DOWN! And I didn't do too bad for my first week overall. I keep having to remind myself that healthy changes will not happen overnight and I need to take baby steps. And I'm not referring to my weight, rather the healthy changes in my goals.

Then Use the Nozzle to Spray the Poop into the Bucket...

Wait...WHAT?!

Yeah, you heard me right. And that is just one step in my laundry routine for cloth diapers. Tonight I'm going to tell you how I was lured into cloth dipes by some friends when I was first exposed to the way of the crunch.

New Resolutions for the New Me

Yep, I've been sucked in. I've decided to do a stereotypical list of my New Year Resolutions. I figure that the best way to commit to some new changes is to put them on the Internet, cursing them to live there forever.

Many of my resolutions are related to this crunchy layer that is slowly creeping further and further into my life. Others are the typical resolutions that most people make. So, here's a countdown of what I want to work on in 2012 and some of the tools that I plan to utilize.