Making Changes

Well, I am trying to make some changes around here.

1. Using less processed foods. Why do I need them; I am a fairly accomplished cook. Yes, my husband likes processed foods (for the taste, not convenience, since he doesn't cook) but it isn't good for him. The man has allergies, asthma and high blood pressure (from all his meds for the first two) and he needs to get his diet in order. What else is a wife to do? Tough love, baby. Anyway, it is amazing how many aisles of the grocery store you can avoid if you don't use processed foods!
2. Eating more in line with the FDA's food pyramid. I know, it feels a little like 6th grade. But I just feel like there is so much out there that I am missing, especially since the vegetables we tend to eat are potatoes, corn, peas and green beans! I want my kids to have a wide range of vegetables, to be comfortable with them and to carry that into adulthood. Plus, Chad and I also need them. I don't want to be stooped over and have rickets at 37! So I spent half of the morning (how did I even find the time?) researching it all and putting it into an Excel friendly document for me. I love to organize; hate to follow through.
3. Trying to control my overwhelming desire for chocolate. I am one of those women who will eat an entire pan of brownies in 5 minutes if given the chance (almost did last night). I am also very overweight right now, mostly to inactivity and to so many babies, so little time. And have you ever heard someone on those morning news programs suggest buying a fun size bag of candy bars, so you just eat that little bar to fulfill your craving? Yeah, entire bag here please. So, I bought one of those bags, and made a little promise to myself. You can eat them, you can eat the entire bag if you want to, but you can only have one an hour. I know, still can be lots of chocolate, but it works for me right now. I can fulfill that horrible craving and there are even some hours where I forget!! Imagine that.
4. I joined the Y. Yes, the YMCA. I love it. Most of why I love it is it is not brand-spanking new. Not shiny, not fancy, just normal. I love that. And it is filled with old people! What do I care about sporting a swimsuit when there are so many wrinkly people around. It is seriously great. My sister joined with me, so that we can make each other go. So far all I have done is swim, but I like that. It is kicking my ass and all I can handle is 20 minutes, but I like it.

I am not calling these resolutions. It is too late and I already made some. These are lifestyle changes and I really, really hope it sticks.

Pondering...

I read this on yet another one of my many blog-haunts, and it is just SO interesting, I had to put it here to ponder myself.

From Random Acts of Journaling You are given a gift of 1 million dollars (kindly adjust for currency in your location). There are some restrictions on how you can spend some of the money, as follows:

$100,000 must be donated to charity. What charities will you support? Something to do with children. Childhood diseases of some sort, not really sure which one.

$100,000 must be given to one person that you know. To whom do you give it? What would you expect him/her to do with it? Would you put any restrictions on its use? Would it make a difference if you could make the donation anonymously? I think that I would give it to Chad's parents, mainly his dad, and for him to use in his business. Not sure if that is totally legal, but hey, this isn't real anyway! Yes, would restrict it to actual business money, and with the stipulation that Chad's mom can cut down her hours or stop working all together. Not sure if I would make it anonymous or not...probably not.

$100,000 must be given to someone who has recently been in the news. Who gets it? Why? That man who lost his wife and 3 kids in the mudslide in Las Conchita. Although he kinds of bugs me, that must be a lot to bear, and he didn't seem like he had a lot.

$100,000 must be spent on a public beautification project. You can build a park, commission artwork, etc. What do you do, and where do you do it? Donate it to the Como Zoo to renovate its giraffe area....they need some room. I know it isn't much for them, but it is something.

$100,000 must be spent on a memorial to someone/something that you have loved and lost. What form does the memorial take? Who is it for? My aunt died soon after Jack was born, and she was a doctor and she went to the U of MN for her degree, so I think I would do something with their Ph.d. program there. Maybe buy something they need and dedicate it to her, or if they are building something, donate the money and ask for a plaque or something.

$50,000 must be spent studying something you have not formally studied. What will you study? Art. Watercolor painting, to be specific. There was this show on in England called Watercolour Challenge and I loved it and have since aspired to be able to do paint with watercolors.

$50,000 must be spent establishing a scholarship. What's it for and who will you name it for? I would name it for my friend from high school, Aaron, who died 2 weeks after Jack was born. It would be for swimmers who are also ok students, but no stellar kids. Just ordinary nice guys like he was.

$50,000 must be given away in a contest. What kind of contest do you hold? Hold a contest for kids at my old elementary school; whoever could read the most books in a week wins the money. Figure younger kids would be less likely to cheat.

$200,000 must be spent doing as many things as you can on your "lifetime to do list." Always wanted to see Alaska? Take a boat trip on the Rhine? What things would you do first? Go to Tahiti and stay in a glass bottom hutt. Buy/put a down payment on my dream house.

That leaves you with $150,000 of mad money. If the rules say you can't spend that money on things that might be termed "practical," what do you buy on your spending spree? Traveling around Europe. Clothes. Shoes. Gorgeous handbags. Jewlery.

And now for Jack

Here are the things that Jack are doing right now:

• Trying to figure out what he is saying sometimes is like putting together a puzzle! "Side" is outside. "Gigi" is Granny. Parker is "gar-ker" and Sadie is "day-di". More is his catch-all right now, for down, for up, for anything that he wants. More seems to get it done fast.
• He has the happiest little run. When he is happy, he runs fast and does this high-stepping manouver that is so funny and so cute. People openly smile and tell their companions how sweet he is. I never tire of seeing it.
• He loves Sesame Street, and letting us know who is on it. It is cool to see he is picking things up.
• If the mood strikes him, he will sometimes give you an unsolicitated kiss. It is so sweet.
• When you put him to bed (whether it is for a nap or for the night) he will say "Mommy, Daddy, Jack, Charlie"....that is in reference to the prayers that Chad says with him every night.
• He loves to dance and is really liking singing, too.
• He is wild about water, whether it is a pool or the faucet or the dog's bowl.
• He loves animals, dogs in particular. He is known to abandon people and playing to talk to a kenneled up dog.
• He will eat anything that someone else is eating. And he is a carb-o-holic. He is nutty about bread. We actually call him a food nazi, because inevitably, if you are eating, he wants it and does not take no for an answer.
• He loves to count, and oftentimes out of the blue will say "one" and that is your cue to count with him.
• He has just started taking people by the hand (or pant leg as the case may be) and leading them where he wants them.
• His favorite foods are apples and bananas. He will eat and entire bunch of bananas a day if I let him.

Inspiration

This morning I was reading a blog of this woman and her twin girls. Today's entry was all about one of them, just a list of little things about her that are sure to change one day soon. Things that will most likely be forgotten. And I thought that was a fabulous idea. In the moment, it seems like you will never forget, but I look back on pictures from Jack when he was 7 months old, and I can't remember that time. I have to think of a certain event, and then I can remember that, but I have a hard time recalling specific cuteness from then. So, I am going to start recording about both of my boys, and today we will do Charlie.

He still wakes up in the night, most times. Usually around 4 or 5, so I let it pass. He does not accept crying it out. I think he got his Mommy's genes and takes it personally.
I think he has an allergy to eggplant (going to confirm it with the doctor on Thursday when he goes in for him 6 months Well Baby Visit), his chin and any skin that surrounds his mouth turns bright red and looks a bit like severe wind burn. But it doesn't affect anything else, just that skin. Other food he has had so far: apricots (gagged on them yesterday, but they were very thick), green peas (wasn't overly fond), sweet potatoes (horrible vomiting incident and haven't fed them to him since), pears (likes them well enough), aforementioned eggplant (which he adores, by the way), squash (digs it), bananas (had a whole post about that) and avocado (not a big fan). Also he has had rice cereal (not the biggest fan, but only gave him in the beginning, and don't think he liked food in general then) and oatmeal (he likes something in it). Today will be the first day that he will eat 3 times (hopefully will get to it all); figured it was time. And I need to get my butt in gear, since there are still days I forget altogether. Whoops.
He loves the Johnny Jump-up, and thinks the exersaucer is ok. He is digging his interactive bouncy set now, tolerates gyms and still loves the mobile and aquarium thing. When he jumps in the Johnny Jump-up, his legs look like frog legs, the way the jump. It is so cute.
His hair is so all over the place. It sticks up on the top and the sides, and no matter what I do, I can never get it to stay down. Not that I really want to yet, it is cute. But I try, just to see if it will.
His eyes are gorgeous! He doesn't necessarily have the lashes like Jack does (although Charlie's are getting darker) but the color blue is beautiful. I really hope they stay blue.
He hasn't really been crying lately, he more screeches. And it is the same screech he does when he is happy, so I always wonder if I need to get him, or if he is fine (like, from his crib).
He is so mellow. He will lay on the changing table and just watch everything, and I swear I could leave him there all day, as long as the action isn't very far away.
He loves his toes. As soon as they are free, he throws them into his mouth, like a long lost love.
He is turning into such a happy baby. For the first 4 or 5 months, he would smile or laugh (you had to really work to hear those) but I wouldn't characterize him as happy. Mellow, chilled, content is what I would use (he is still those). In fact, it was hard to find good pictures of him, because he looked the same in the all; the same little serious face. Like a grumpy old man, only he wasn't grumpy (I swear!). Now, he is a bundle of happiness. I go to get him out of his crib, and it is like he can't contain his happiness at seeing me. He jumps around in his jump-up and looks so happy. It is so fun to watch.
And Charlie loves to eat. Now he is into the groove, and sees the spoon and the food and can't wait for me to shove it in his mouth. I need to plan better, because right now I strap him into the chair, get the food, he sees it and starts to get restless and then I put the bib on. Poor guy can't handle all that suspense! One day here I will get it together.
I am not sure if he does this when he is hungry, or tired, or what, but he will grab my ears and pull me in to suck on my lip. I love it so much, although I am waiting for him to rip one of my earrings out.
He wears 6 - 12 month clothes, which the length fits perfectly, but he looks like he is drowning in width-wise.
He isn't so chatty much, probably because there isn't room with a big brother and 2 dogs, but he will do this breathing thing, where he acts like he is hyperventilating or something, and just sit and do that. It was especially endearing when I was trying to decide if he was allergic to eggplant (wasn't related to the eggplant).
His skin is so beautiful and soft. Jack has almost always had eczema, so it got rough early, but Charlie's is like whipped butter.
He loves my pop cans. I was reading an email about what he could be doing at this stage, and it said that he may be getting up on all fours. Well, not my Charlie, I thought. I laid him on his stomach, and yup, no action. Then I thought....What if he had the right motivation? So I put one of my cans just out of his reach, and sure enough, he was trying. Granted, he couldn't get all the way up or anything, but he wanted to. So, now I know what to use when I want him to practice!

Going Public

I have recently started thinking about going public with this blog. In two different ways, actually.

1. Posting comments on other blogs and actually including my URL
2. Letting some friends of mine know about this blog

The problem with #1 is that I mostly read infertility blogs, and talk about kicking them when they are down, can you imagine reading about all my fertility issues? Also, it means that someone might actually read this blog. You think that's funny, huh? Well, right now there really isn't anyone I have to impress. I can throw caution to the wind and not spell check. I posted a comment on one of my favorite blogs today and I had to re-read it 4 times before I would post it. Oh, the pressure!!!!

The problem with #2 is, what if I want to bitch? Share things I don't want people I may ever see know? Not totally sure what that would be at the moment (hard to remember what modesty is when you have nursed in the busy food court of the Mall of America) but it could happen. And then comes the pressure again. Ugh, so difficult.

The nice things about someone out there reading this is that I would maybe post more. Before I started this blog, I was ruminating about it and always had ideas for good posts. Now, I don't know, I can't seem to summon anything interesting, especially since there will be no discussions, so it is all kind of just an account of what my kids are up to now. SNOOZEFEST. I think I will maybe start reading a Mommy blog or two (ok, I do read a couple now, but most started as infertility blogs) and then I won't feel like I am insulting anyone. Now that I have a plan, time to get my head around implementing it.

As far as the kiddies go, things are good. Charlie has started sitting up, which is hard for me to get my head around. It feels like he has been here forever, but I can't see him ever doing much more than laying around! So, this is a big step. He sat on the floor with me for at least 5 minutes this morning, and it was so fun. I really enjoy him. As for Jack, he is good. He is a little talking machine, and I hesitate to say this, but I think he almost understands everything. This morning I asked him to go to his room and get his cup (he is forever losing cups) and HE DID. Ok, may not seem monumental to everyone, but it was to me. And I feel like we are this close to understanding everything he says. Times, they are a-changing people.