Pixie Dust

Leap Day...

Happy Leap day everyone! I can't believe it's March already. Seriously, where did the time go? Well, it did take a little longer cause I have something I've been waiting for, but really, spring is just around the corner, right?

I just wanted to thank everyone who commented on my Diets post. I really got some great stories, ideas and hopefully can hash out a plan. I haven't quite figured out what we'll do, but I've got some ideas. I think I will stick with a modified Atkins and cut out bad carbs, eat lots of natural foods, whole grains, fruits and veggies, etc. I will probably limit my calories too.

I've also decided that shortly after B-man comes, I am going to start a daily walk with the kids (weather permitting). I am aiming for 10,000 steps a day, I hope I can manage it! Once I am given the go ahead, I am going to form a fitness routine that contains some running, pilates, weight training and I'm going to give the video that Heather suggested a try. I would love to get the kids into being more active and healthy and this is a perfect way to do that. Brian and I talked about joining a gym, either the Y or Lifetime Fitness. Both locations have great activities and programs for families. As you can see, the theme for my "new" life is built upon being active.

I realize that what I'm doing is a complete lifestyle change, and I'm up to the challenge. Now that I'm done having children, I really want to focus on bettering myself as a whole. I want to be healthy and active for my kids and husband, and I want my kids to grow up valuing their bodies and health. I know I will be tired and want to eat chocolate and I know there will be times when I will give in, but I WANT to do this and WILL do this. I hope everyone out there can offer me some ongoing support as I enter this new life. I've heard amazing stories from so many of you and I just hope that some day I can tell a similar story. Thanks so much! Have a wonderful weekend FRIENDS!

Diets

Alright my loyal readers, I've got a very pressing question regarding diets. There are so many different "diets", programs and pills out there right now, I wanted your opinion on some/all of them. A little background first. I'm not a large person. I am 5'2 on a good day, and can weigh anywhere from 115lbs on my wedding day to 140 after Annika. The top of that isn't all that bad, but considering my frame, height and stature, it gets mighty pudgy, more so than I would prefer. The bottom of that is borderline too thin. I'd say a good goal for me is 125 to 130, I'm a mom now, I know I'll never be 115lbs ever again!

Ok, so back to the diets. I've only tried a few of them and have experienced different levels of success with each. A while back I did weight watchers, the points version, for a couple of months. My success level was, oh, medium I suppose. Meaning I did lose some weight, not a lot though. I found that program to be to loose in guidelines. If you give me a cookie, I'll take 4, really I will.

Before my wedding, I did Atkins. I experienced a very high level of success with this. I cut out all refined sugars white flours (breads, cookies, pastas, potatoes, etc.) I lost a significant amount of weight in a short period of time. My body was burning fat and not carbohydrates. I have never felt better in my life, than I did at that point. I had energy, my metabolism was high, I never got sick, my cholesterol was the best it's been and my blood pressure was fantastic. Now, some of you may have doubts about this particular diet, but I've experienced it first hand and I only have good things to say about it. My mother in law has been living a low carb lifestyle for 4 years now, and she is in perfect health. The concept is smart, if you do it right.

Ok, so I've seen tons of commercials for Jenny Craig, La Weight Loss, Nutrasystem, Seattle Suttons, the new Alli weight loss pill and of course many more. But, I don't know much about them. How do they work, do they work, etc.

I know that having a good exercise regime is critical to any of these things, so don't worry, that's been taken into account. I know how to exercise and such, so that's not what I'm asking about. What I really want to know is do you have experience with any of these "diets"? What are your opinions about them in general and is there anything I should know? I prefer to make an educated choice on such a dramatic "lifestyle" change. This will not only affect me, but my whole family and it needs to be healthy and reasonable. This will go into effect 3 weeks from today, so please give me your thoughts! Thanks peeps.

Tuesday

I couldn't come up with a good title, so Tuesday it is. I've been having random thoughts in my head lately and I wanted to document them.

-I'm so anxious and excited to have Bennett. I love the whole birth experience and bringing such a miracle into the world. However, that period of time when you get home and experience the "baby blues" is still so new in my memory, I'm having a little anxiety about it. I'm not afraid of the surgery or the recovery. I can handle that. All you need is a positive attitude, a strong will and the pain killers help a little too! What I can't control is my hormones and emotions and that is scary and frustrating. I hate feeling sad for no reason, having no appetite, being afraid of the pending darkness of night and it's quietness. I hate crying when I should be relishing in the awesomeness of a new and innocent baby. I know it's normal, but it sucks nevertheless. Even though I'm on anti-depressants, I know it will still affect me as it does everyone. I think knowing this scares me even more.

-I've been having the irrational fear that my water will break and I won't have control of this pregnancy anymore. I told you, it's irrational, but it's still in my head!

-I'm terrified of having 3 kids! I know I will love them all to death, but seriously, 3 kids under 3? I must be crazy! Life will definitely be interesting for quite a while!

-I am sooooo excited to have my body back. I know it will be a struggle losing this weight, and then some, but at this point I welcome the challenge! I want to have the strong will to eat well and exercise. But then again, with 3 kids will I have time to eat anyway?

-I am so tired of this weather. Yes I live in MN, and yes I should be used to it, but I'm not. In fact, I hate it even more as I get older and I often wonder what the hell I'm still here for!

-I love hearing from people that they read my blog. Sometimes you have no clue who's reading, but they are. They know what is going on with me, I only wish I could say that more about them. I think everyone should have a blog. Who cares if you think your life isn't interesting enough, or that you don't have enough time, it's not that time consuming and if people really care about you, they will read whatever you choose to post! Thanks to all my readers, I love you all!

-I really want Annika to learn to use a real toilet. She's deathly afraid of it and frankly, I don't want to be tied down to my house because she won't use a toilet. Little shit!

-I'm really sorry I've been so bad at responding to all your posts. I've been so darn lazy. I promise, I'm reading but sometimes I have so many on my list, I just have a hard time commenting. I know, excuses, excuses. I promise to do better from here on out!

-Bianca is bizarro. She has been so random lately with her sleeping. I won't go into it, I am just baffled by her, as usual.

-Bianca is saying new words every day. Her favorite thing right now is to say "pup-pup", then go "roof roof". It's too darn cute. I love those half-words that babies use. She's walking like crazy, and even running at times, mainly when she sees you with a diaper or a kleenex! She's too smart.

-Annika is potty training like a champ. Go Annika! She is also getting a bit of an attitude. She has taken to yelling at me. You better believe she ends up in a timeout with that. She needs to respect adults, enough said!

-Annika is pumped to meet B-man. She talks about how she's going to "hold him, change his diaper and feed him a bottle". She says it all so clearly too, it's so freakin' cute! I sure hope she loves him when he's here though! Oh, and she thinks my belly button is the way to get to Bennett. Funny kids.

-I have 3 weeks until my c-section and the amnio is the day before. Part of me secretly hopes to go into labor before so I don't have to experience a giant needle being inserted into my belly. I'll be off bedrest completely in about 2 weeks so you never know what can happen. Maybe I'll go shopping when I turn 36 weeks, and try some jumping jacks. Zoe suggested sex, but I doubt that will happen. I suppose I could win some sort of medal if that feat was accomplished!

Ok, I guess that's enough for now. I'm getting a haircut tomorrow and can't wait. Don't expect a huge change though, it's just a trim. Until next time!

33 weeks and the nursery!

Well, here it is, my belly in all its glory!

I told you it was huge! My doctor appt. went well. No news is good news, I guess. I just need to follow my body's cues as far as taking it easy. I actually lost a few pounds as of last week, I think 3? This week I didn't gain any weight, so that's great. I am up only about 18, so I'm not too obsessed with it, yet. I still have 4 weeks to put on a lot more! It looks like I've gained like 50 though. My legs are huge, my arms are flabby, and we all know there is no baby in my ass! Hopefully I can take it off easily though.

Here are some nursery pics. It's pretty much finished, I just need to get a few baskets for the changing table and a changing table pad. But, we're mostly set and ready for the little man. I opted to go simple and boyish. I think it's pretty cute and fun. The girls both love it. The room is quite big, so even with 3 pieces of furniture, it still looks scarce! Maybe we'll get a rocker or something, who knows. So, here you go!

My mother in law made the window treatment and the bedskirt out of fabric I got from IKEA, I bought the quilt from IKEA too, but she took it apart and stuffed it and such. We cut out the animals from the patterned fabric and put it on some canvas for pictures, I recovered a lamp and added some cute stuffed animals. My mother in law made all the girls' bedding too, she does a great job and I'm grateful to have her. She also made my wedding dress which was gorgeous and perfect. She's very talented! Alright, that's it for now. Goodnight peeps!

Ok, so I lied...

I do have a TFT for today. This has been in the news recently and it really pisses me off. I'm sure some of you are following JLo and the birth of her twins. So, today it was reported that she signed a deal with People magazine for exclusive rights to the first pictures of her babies. She gets a whopping $6 million for these pictures. Here is the story. Ok, for real? As if she needs more money. The story tries to back up her actions by saying it will protect her babies. But really? Does she need $6 million more dollars? What I would like to see is her donate that money to a worthy cause, perhaps in the name of her children. What's just as ridiculous, is that America just feeds off of this. They can't wait to see these exploited babies. Personally, I don't care. Great, she's giving birth, that's wonderful for her, congrats. But other than that, I really don't need these details. Let alone see a $6 million dollar picture of her babies. Do think she's justified in taking this money? Why are her babies more important than the other thousands being born today?

Another rant about that is she has reportedly reserved a private room, for several weeks. God forbid that room be used for another woman. So, for the past few weeks, if a woman in labor comes in and all rooms are full, she's turned down or sent elsewhere because that room is reserved for JLo? Seriously, what is this world coming to? Believe me, I have nothing against JLo in general, I'll watch her chic flicks and whatnot. But, when crap like this happens it really makes me irritated. She has money and fame, so she gets special treatment in every aspect of her life. Even special hospital treatment. When did we all become so starstruck that things like this become ok, even normal?

Ok, so this wasn't well written, nor was it well thought out. But, it's a rant and I want to know if I'm the only one not ok with this.

Other TFT'ers:

Jessica on Dreams, Aspirations and all that Jazz, Nicole on new babies and germs, and Jenny on Generic vs. name brand.

Here are some more: Kristi on ESP and premonitions and Heather on Names in the WWW.
If I missed you, let me know!

Randomness...

Well, once again not TFT from me. I have a topic, but I'm too lazy to post. Maybe next week??? I thought I'd do an update instead. Last week I posted this. Well, since then we've had a lot of happenings in the potty training world. Annika got a virus, a diarrhea virus. So the floodgates were opened on Friday evening and lasted until Tuesday afternoon. Ughhhh, let me tell you how sick of poop I am! She didn't even know she had pooped her pants until she sat on the potty and saw the poop in her undies. She would freak out every time. This is a kid who has NEVER had runny poop, ever. She has been constipated since about 10 months old, so she's used to knowing she has to go, and then pushing and pushing to get it out. Poor thing. Well, she broke out in a rash yesterday morning so the virus is over! Yeah. So, now she's back on track. No accidents since Tuesday, some minor dribbles of pee here and there, but otherwise, she's doing fantastic. She's not even asking for treats anymore and telling us when she has to go. That was the goal all along!

I have a dr. appointment today. Hopefully all is well and I can be off of the full bedrest. To be honest, I haven't been strict with it anyway. Oh well, I'm still here with a huge baby in the belly, so I must be doing something right. I'm going to post a GIGANTIC belly pic later with an update. Seriously, I am huge. I honestly think that my skin is going to rip. It hurts like it already is!

Our new nanny is working out well. Annika has been testing her limits though. It's been a little rough for her and of course I feel bad for Sara for having to deal with it. Hopefully Annika will continue to adjust. So far no meltdowns today, but it's early!

Tomorrow is Friday. Yay! Brian took the day off since he's been working toooooo much lately. Last week I told him he needed to schedule a day off for himself. This needs to be done in advance as he'd never get the chance if he didn't. So he'll take some time for himself tomorrow and so will I! Tomorrow also marks the 11th year of our relationship! Holy crap, I can't believe it's been that long. We started dating a week after Valentine's Day back in high school, I was a junior and he was a senior. We've been together ever since. We've been married almost 4 years. Bennett is due on our 4th wedding anniversary, April 10th. Seriously, neither of us thought we'd have all 3 of our kids less than 4 years after we got married. It's crazy!

Saturday will hopefully be a day of relaxation. That's if the girls cooperate, and more often than not, they don't! Sunday, I have my sprinkle. I can't wait. It should be a good time and I get to see my good friends all at the same time.

Until next time, peace out!

I'm a sucker for these things...

Ok, so whenever I get these emails I always try to do them. I love learning random things about my friends and hope that you enjoy learning meaningless things about me too. So here it goes:

1. What is your occupation? Stay at home mom

2. What color are your socks right now? none, I hate socks

3. What are you listening to right now? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse music

4. last thing that you ate? Lucky Charms

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Ha, that's funny!

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? black

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Brian

8. How old are you today? 28

10. What is your favorite sport to watch? football!

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Ummm, yeah, since I was like 13!

12. Pets? Yes way too many, you want some?

13. Favorite food? PIZZA

14. What was the last movie you watched? Stardust (DUMB)

15. Favorite day of the year? My kiddos birthdays and Christmas

16. What do you do to vent anger? Get pissed and hold it in!

17. What was your favorite toy as a child? Probably my bike or basketball hoop

18. What is your favorite, fall or spring? That's a toughy, I love spring because it signals the end of winter, but fall is so beautiful and the weather is perfect. I guess it's a tie!

19. hug or kisses? Gosh, I love them both.

20. Cherries or Blueberry? cherries for sure!

21. Do you want your friends to email you? YES!!

22. Who is most likely to respond? Hmmm, nobody???

23. Who is least likely to respond? Ummm, everybody???

24. Current living situation? I live in my house with the hubby, my girls and the animals

25. When was the last time you cried? Well, probably last week. My happy pills just started kicking in!

26. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? Well, I've known my sis the longest and she's one of my best friends. If family doesn't count, then Nikki, I've known her since 3rd grade!

28. Favorite smells? New baby skin, mmmm.

29. What inspires you? My friends and family and most of all Annika and Bianca

30. What are you afraid of? getting old, it terrifies me

31. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese

32. Favorite dog breed? golden!!!!!!

33. How many years at your current job? Well, it's not a job, it's my life, but I've been at home for 1 1/2 years, the best of my life!

34. Favorite days of the week? Saturday

35. How many countries have you lived in? Ha, just one!

36. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery? yeah right!

37. Who's your favorite sports team? Go Vikes (you suck!)

38. Do you have a house phone that is NOT cordless? I don't have a house phone, so no.
39. Do you like finding out more about people in your life? Love it!

40. What is your goal for 2008? Stay sane while I raise 3 kids under 3! Lose all the baby weight plus some and look like a MILF!

Go ahead and give it a try.

Therapy session...

Since I've been on bedrest, I've noticed several things about me that I hadn't in the past. I've decided to air my dirty laundry here for everyone to scoff at!

A.) I'm a control freak (this one will have sub-headings)
-I like need things done a certain way. For example, the counters need to be washed a certain way, the butter dish needs to be in the right spot, Bianca's tray needs to be clean and not in the sink, no water stains on the counters. The list could go on and on and on...
-Toys need to be in their place. If they are put in the wrong place, I will move them. Sounds crazy with two kids under 3, huh?
-All chairs have to be pushed in, Annika has already caught onto this and will push in her chair. What a good girl!
-Bath toys need to be taken out of the bath, no ifs ands or buts about it. They should be in the basket, or on the ledge to dry and be sanitized.
-Curtains should be opened to let in the light. I hate dark rooms, it drives me nuts.

B.) It really bothers me when the girls clothes don't match, or aren't cute.
C.) They have to sleep in pajamas. I know they don't care, but I do.
D.) Annika has to have her hair done. It drives me nuts when it's messy and frizzy.
E.) I hate socks. I rarely wear them, ever. Unless I go somewhere in the winter.
F.) I've come to realize that I need to go to Target once a week. Not being able to go, just to look, has killed me! It's my happy place (that's a whole other post).
G.) I need sweets. I'm addicted and can't seem to get over it. Cookies, cake, whatever, as long as it's sweet.
H.) I love coffee. I know that's not that weird, but being a responsible preggo, I've cut out that as far as caffeine. I still drink my coke though!
I.) The girls have to be thoroughly cleaned after meals. Brian won't always do it, and it bugs the crap out of me (sorry babe...).
J.) Our house could be vacuumed every day, but it's not. It drives me nuts that it isn't, but who has time for that these days?
K.) I hate full garbages. They drive me crazy.

Ok, so I'm anal about a lot of household things, but there are somethings that I really let go:

1.) I hate putting laundry away. Brian gets so irritated with it cause my clean clothes just sit on my dresser in the closet... FOR MONTHS!
2.) I hate emptying/loading the dishwasher. But, it drives me nuts when there are dishes in the sink.
3.) I don't care if my bed is made. I'm just going to get into it again later!
4.) As long as the house doesn't look cluttered, I don't care what the closets look like. They are a disaster! But, it drives me nuts if the cupboards are messy. It doesn't make sense, but oh well!

Alright. I think I will be done before I need to pop another happy pill! So there you go, I'm slightly crazy and I'm ready to own up to it. I dare you all to do the same. It's pretty therapeutic! I promise, you'll feel better! Leave me a comment if you take me up on my dare!

TGIF!

For real, I am so happy it's Friday. My week has been full of ups and downs, but overall it's been good. Brian went out of town on Sunday evening, until Tuesday evening so we were scrambling around trying to find enough help day and night so that things would be ok. Well, we got through it unscathed and even ahead of the game. Here's a breakdown:

-Annika is potty training and dare I say (here's where I knock on wood) she's pretty much trained. She has been going strong since Sunday night, has had 2-3 accidents total, wakes up dry after nap, and woke up dry 2 nights in a row. She finally pooped on the potty last night after holding it for 4 days. It was huge and she was so proud of herself. I am so proud of my little girl! She is really growing up.

-Bianca is walking now. It has finally become her preferred mode of transportation. I'm sooooo happy she finally accomplished this. It is the cutest thing. I have video and I will post as soon as we figure it out!

-We hired a nanny, Sara. She is fantastic. The girls really loved her from the instant she walked in the door. It was a big thing to see that and I have all the confidence that she will take over where I left off. She starts Monday and I am more than excited to have her here.

-Valentine's Day was uneventful. Not much happened around here. The girls were in rare form last night causing some stress for the hubby and I. I just wanted to go to sleep so the day could be over.

-Realized that Bianca is cutting a molar. OUCH. Poor baby. That is her reason for being crabby. Annika was constipated, that's her reason. The girls were crabby, that's my reason, and Brian's.

-My happy pills are really helping. Thank goodness for them!

-I feel ok, tired and extremely achy. But, the contractions have been kept at bay, for now. I've been doing my best to sit and relax. I've realized in the last few weeks that I have control issues. I never realized how anal I am about things, but I really am. It's pretty bad. But that's a whole other post on me being crazy!

-No big plans for the weekend. We want to install our new floor, but that's not going to happen any time soon. I think we'll just spend some time at home and stay warm!

Hope you all have a great weekend. I'll post video when I get a chance. Adios!

Thanks everyone...

Just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words and comments. I really appreciate it. I was at the doctor today, I'm dilating a little, but not effacing at all, so that is good. My Fetal Fibronectin test came back negative, so that means that labor will not start within the next 2 weeks. That is great! Still on bedrest until I see or hear from my doctor though. Oh well, I can barely move so that's fine!

I interviewed a nanny today. I hired an agency yesterday and already got the names of 3 potential nannies. The girl I interviewed today was fantastic. She is very assertive and I think will take over where I left off, and then some! She's willing to take the girls places, wean Bianca off of her bottle and potty train Annika. I LOVE HER. She seems very qualified and the girls loved her. Annika doesn't generally take well to strangers, but she was so excited to meet her, and show her her room. It was too cute. I think I will make her an offer tomorrow and have her start on Friday. I'm feeling a lot less stressed out nowadays. It's wonderful. My body on the other hand feels like it got ran over or beat up. Not sure why, but I can barely walk it hurts so bad. Ouch.

On the topic of potty training, Annika has been diaper free for 2 days. She really wanted to use the potty on Sunday night, we let her sit there and she pee'd. I was so proud of her! Since then, we've been in undies (pull ups for naps and night time). She's only had 3 accidents in 2 days which I think is pretty good. I'm so proud of her and she's really enthused about all of it. That is great. I'm hoping this is it and that the nanny can really get the job done. Perfect timing in my mind, I have dreaded potty training and to have someone who has done it before come in and help is great!

Ok, well that is about it for now. Thanks for all those thoughts and prayers! It is much appreciated!