I Love Eating Out

There is something about someone else cooking for you. I love it. I guess I love my husband more, seeing as I married a man who can't cook.

Alan has tried to cook. And while his food (grilled cheese or omelets, mostly) is certainly welcome on a lazy day, it is nothing special. He can't grill without under or overcooking the food, forgets to stir food on the stove, and thinks that more seasoning is ALWAYS better, even when it's clearly not. *cough*fennel seeds*cough*

I cook reasonably well, but I don't enjoy cooking.

I enjoy eating.

So we eat out. A lot. My children are generally very well-behaved at restaurants. They've been taken to eating places from a young age and know the rules. Even Loki can sit quietly through a meal, smiling at the other diners. I'm not a fast food person, so this often meals actual sit down restaurants. It's almost embarrassing how well-behaved they are in restaurants, since they are too young to act that well in public. (And let's just say that they have figured out that church is NOT a restaurant, so the misbehave accordingly.)

I see other parents struggle. Their kids scream, throw food, and spill water. That's the norm, right? I think my kids sense that mommy takes food VERY SERIOUSLY and she's not messing around. :)

Etcetera.

Don't Do It...

...no matter how hungry you are, don't shove down chili cheese toast in a hurry because your baby is screaming for milk.

DO...NOT...DO...IT.

Seriously.

Ugh. It's almost midnight and I am still paying. Tomorrow is going to suck.

How does this weaning thing work?

Etcetera.

Mornings Suck

How difficult would it be, really, to get organized in the mornings? If I just checked my calendar the night before, loaded my car as much as possible (work bag and any extra stuff I need to bring, like workout clothes or swimsuits), put everything else in my "lauchpad" area with a sticky note of stuff to get from the frig, and put out clothes for the morning, mornings would go much smoother.

Hmm, what am I forgetting?

Oh, yes. Silly me! What about a nanny for Ander and Loki, since I am clearly unqualified to get them dressed.

This morning, Ander had no less than five timeouts before we left for work. He refused to get dressed. He refused to potty. He refused to brush his teeth, though he begged to floss. {rolls eyes} No, young man, flossing is for kids who listen to their mommies! {pats self on the back for that brilliant, unproductive reasoning}

We have a chart of the things we do in the morning - potty, brush teeth, brush hair, and get dressed - but he assured me he didn't want checks and would get them tomorrow instead. (He takes the procrastination problem from his daddy.) At least it was a day at work when I had no time constraints, but when I have court, this cannot happen.

He is in for a shock tomorrow. No tv before 7 a.m. He can play in his room, or, if the sun is up, cuddle in my bed. But no tv. And I won't let it go on until he brushes hair and teeth and gets dressed. Plus, if he needs to go to timeout to decide to get dressed, no tv at all (at least until after lunch). It will be fabulouso, let me assure you.

Loki was also in a fine mood, screaming about his sore gums, pooping AFTER I change his diaper and clothes, and puking all over me as we were about to get into the car.

As you might imagine, I am bad company today. Good thing I am working from a coffee shop - alone. (Good thing for the people who would otherwise be around me, I mean. Obviously.)

Etcetera.

Loki Is Communicating

Loki is talking. He says "da da" and looks around for Alan. (The word is old news, but the looking around and smiling when he sees Alan is new.) He looks for Ander when we say his name. He will say "ma ma ma" but only if he has a paci in his mouth. He must need to feel it to form an m sound.

He also follows simple commands, like shaking his head no or lifting his bum in the air when I say "up."

He has a mean pincher grasp and is two seconds from real commando crawling.

Unfortunately, he's also screaming when someone (meaning mommy) leaves the room. Or doesn't pick him up. Or, God forbid, deems to put food by his mouth.

Is it wrong to feed his Rice Chex because they are cheaper than Puffs? {rolls eyes at self}

I'm not ready for two kids talking back.

Etcetera.

Losing Weight While Breastfeeding

Everyone promised that breastfeeding would just melt the baby weight away.

LYING LIARS.

8 months into exclusively breastfeeding, I am probably at my highest weight, ever. A combination of illnesses and injuries has derailed my efforts to work out. Loki refuses solid foods, so I'm starving all the time. My body feels like it is starving, yet I eat constantly.

I have friends who use Weight Watchers, but I don't have the time or money for meetings. So I'm going to do what has worked for me in the past. I'm going to jog/walk and count calories. I'm fat enough that I can have 2,200 calories a day (if I'm still nursing and work out 30 minutes 6 days a week) and still get skinnier. So that's the goal.

I am so picky about calorie counting, though. It kills me to estimate. I hate when a restaurant does not provide calorie counts. Ugh! If I could just get over that. And if I could just remove my butt from the sofa...

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Need to Socialize

The last few weekends have been a bust. I'd like to report that I ate leisurely dinners with friends, played at the park, or played Scrabble until 3 in the morning. Instead, I had a horrible Mother's Day and then was very sick this weekend. I feel like if I don't do something about my lack of a social life, I'm going to get overwhelmed and exhausted. Heck, the stress is probably why I keep getting sick.

This weekend, I am doing something about it. I have a social event to attend Saturday night. I have a bar-be-que to go to on Memorial Day. I am going to get out of the house for some purpose other than grocery shopping.

Two kids are a lot of work.

Etcetera.