Monday, February 23, 2015

Healthy Me Week 7: Reassessment & Product Test!!

Hey everyone! Sorry this post is so behind; I've been working for about 7 days straight now, and finding time to sit and blog has become harder and harder. Only 5 more days until my break! Whew!


At the First Annual Mommy Fest in Marshfield, WI, I was given a small sample from Ms. Carmen WEbb, an ItWorks! consultant. You know the company: They have the wraps that shrink your belly and thighs!
Well, they also have stretch mark cream. Let me tell you, I was both excited and nervous to use this stuff. I had tried many products, and none of them seemed to help.
After using Mederma (which is a $30 bottle of scar cream, and considered one of the best creams out there) and having little success with my very deep stretch marks, I had resigned myself to having ribbed, rough skin around my hips and belly. Maybe it's because I'm losing the weight, or maybe it's because I'm more observant; either way, I've noticed a small change in my skin tone in the week that I've used this stuff! I will post more after 30 days of use. My little sample will last that long. After all, a little goes a long way!


BEFORE: Still kinda pinkish-purply, and deep. 2 kids later. 


The color has changed a bit, and you can see how it's smoothing out!


And now, for the juicy part-

WEEKLY WEIGH-IN!
Last Week: 170 lbs
This Week: 171 lbs

Reassessment:

So, those small, sneaky pounds are coming back. I hold myself accountable for a lot of it, especially since I've been slacking on my exercise. Hey, with a busted wrist, it's hard to find things that isn't running! But I can't use that as a crutch. I'm researching exercises to do with one hand, and hopefully I can get back on track.
I am OK with not meeting my goal for the month of February, because I didn't just let myself go. I had a medical reasoning for stopping my routine. 

New Goals For March:

-Lose 4 pounds
-Solidify a work-out program for my situation

Gotta keep that positive attitude! We can do this!


Love ya Mamas!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

MUCH WOW! LOVE! SUCH VIEWS!


I can't believe that my blog has received over 5,000 views, most of which have happened in the last few months! I just want to say thank you to all my readers, and give a big hug to my Mamas! I wouldn't have reached that goal without you. Here's to spreading the word, and the love, to all the Mamas out there!
Love ya!

~Em


Monday, February 16, 2015

Mommy Reality Challenge #8: Mommy's Guilty Pleasure

Oh, wow. A guilty pleasure...

You know, I don't think things in this life should make us feel guilty for enjoying them. Like when I sing Spice Girls music while cleaning my bathroom, or watching ghost movies/shows while eating ice cream and wearing my pajamas....at noon. I don't feel guilt over these things, and never understood the idea behind a guilty pleasure. But, for the sake of the challenge, I will give a list of things I really like, even though I'm an adult, and a mom, and....whatever else.

(credit: Disney studios)

1. I really love school. Like, oh my god, if I could just be a professional student, I would. I love learning new things. I get giddy when I have to do class work.

Kitty Foreman is my spirit animal.
(Credit: Fox Media)

2. I really, really, really like wine. I don't drink it often because of breastfeeding and god awful shift work times, but when I get the chance, I'm ridiculously happy.

My little hunter, Zurai. I can kill you in three moves. <3!
(Credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

3. Ah, video games. I love video games a lot. A. Lot. In fact, I met my husband on the infamous World of Warcraft. Oh, yeah. Love at first type. We consistently play video games together, and live by the creedo: "The couple that slays together, stays together."


4. Yoga. If I had known that I would find this kind of self-love & understanding through yoga, I would've started it a lot sooner. When I have to go without doing even a few simple poses, I feel completely out of whack.

(Artist Unknown- found on Pinterest)

5. Tea. In ungodly amounts. You know that old adage, 'Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food'? Thanks, Hippocrates- You're supporting my tea habit! In all seriousness, I will drink tea before I take medicine to soothe my symptoms. I drink tea to boost me up, calm me down, and help me to clear my mind after a nerve-wracking day. I will even splurge a few extra dollars on local, organically grown tea, and drink it on very special occasions.


So, there's five things I love; My pleasures in life. I try my best to indulge in at least one every day. 

#MommyRealityChallenge 
#Thewholetruth
#Evenfacebookgamescountasvideogames

Find more challenges here!

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Healthy Me Week 6: Plateauing (Short & Sweet)

This week's weight entry will be a short one, since I had a nice Valentine's Day surprise from my hubby. Wine! It was a warm, sleepy night after one glass, and I prefer it that way. Lots of cuddles from my girls, and we used some coupons to go out to Culver's for a family date.

I have a feeling that I've plateaued on my weight loss. I've been at 170 for two weeks now, and while I'm OK with it (Hey, I'm not -gaining- weight!), I feel like a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm not keeping up with activity, like speed walking/jogging, or Yoga. My wrist is still on the mend, but it's coming along nicely, so my Yoga mat will get a good break-in soon! As for the cardio....Sorry. I'm not going out in negative degree weather to burn some calories. Nope. Nope nope.

How have you compromised in your health journey? Do you feel like you're backsliding, or just making things easier? I saw this little gem on Tumblr the other day, and felt like sharing it with the rest of you:



Weekly Weigh In: 

Last Week- 170 lbs

This Week- 170 lbs


I'm certain there are other things I can do to drop down further. That will be my goal for this week! I have 2 weeks to burn off another 8 pounds to meet my goal. I don't think it's going to happen, but I have to try!

Love ya, Mamas!

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Adventures in Breastfeeding: Extended Nursing and Me




Why is it that as soon as your little one turns a year old, those that were patting you on the back for nursing suddenly have a hellacious death grip, and begin berating you for not giving the baby cow's milk? We undermine our 'Normalize Breastfeeding' campaign by putting boundaries on it. We give formula moms more crap about keeping their kid on formula (stage 2 for toddlers, yeah!) instead of giving them cow milk. 
When I see articles about extended nursing, and moms that do so , I get a little flutter in my heart. It's something I want, but we get that crazy eye when Monster pulls my shirt for 'Yums'!

Her favorite position at nap time.
First of all, my milk will be far more nutritious than any cow's milk. Period.
End of story.
Second of all, Beans has a lactose sensitivity, and always has had this. She isn't fully lactose intolerant, but we have to watch how much yogurt, cheese, and milk she gets so we don't have any issues. Do I want to watch Monster Girl go through the same nightmare that we had with Beans? Certainly not.

Currently, I am struggling to keep my supply up. I don't know if my body is done, or if it's just done pumping, but I can't get out more than 4 ounces per pump session. Monster seems content enough when I get home, so I'm thinking of light weaning- Nurse in the morning before the alarm goes off, nurse when I get home, nurse at bedtime, and any time she needs it during the night.
(I dunno what I'm going to do about nap time on my days off; we'll burn that bridge when we come to it, I guess)

Monster Girl at the big kid table!
While at daycare, she has been turning away from the bottle, refusing to drink any more than an ounce or so. She settles fairly well into a nap on her own, and I am finding that this is the same at night. We nurse, she pulls off after ten minutes, and then I can put her to bed with no incident.


Now, here's the kicker: I'm not ready. I thought I was! I could've swore that I accepted my fate a few months back, when my supply started to dip again. I thought I could handle the fact that my little Monster Girl is growing up, and seems to want to pull away for independence. With Beans, it was different. We didn't really bond until she was a very sweet, but sassy, two year old. I didn't feel this milestone hit me like a ton of bricks.
Maybe I'm selfish. Maybe -I'm- the needy one. I've been pretty hard on myself about things, guilt tripping myself a lot with 'if you stayed at home, you could nurse her as long as you want! You don't have issues with supply when she's latched. You could watch every moment, every smile, every tantrum, and be able to cuddle and comfort with that boob.'

At this point, I'm not sure which is worse: The guilt, or the longing.
Love ya, Mamas!

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Healthy Me Week: 5 Slow and Steady!

Hey, Mamas! Just a quick blog to let you guys know how things are going. With my wrist still giving me a bit of trouble, the posts will be sparse. But I promise, I will make it up to you!

I plan on using a gift certificate I received on a free ten minute massage. I spoke with a masseuse, and was told that if I get a massage done 24 hours before I'm adjusted, it will help the adjustment last longer. Talk about a winning combination! These will flow nicely with my Yoga, which is keeping me limber enough to make my adjustment progress going smoothly.

When I stepped on the scale this morning, it was with a little fear. As ladies will know, there is that wonderful thing called 'water weight' that hits us just as Mother Nature drops by with that wonderful annoyance called a Period. Instead of going in to a health lecture, I'm just going to precede my weigh in with what I anticipated: Five pound fluctuations, thanks to bloat and Ben & Jerry's. But I was very surprised to see the needle stick true to 170 lbs. My eyes got huge, and my jaw dropped. And then, the little voice in my head said, "If you can do one pound during Period Week, you can lose the rest of it, slow and steady." And that's my plan!



Weekly Weigh In:
Last week's weight- 169 lbs.
This week's weight- 170 lbs.

KEEP GOING! STAY POSITIVE! LOVE YA, MAMAS!

Sunday, February 1, 2015

'NO MORE STARBUCKS' Drives Me Nuts

Good morning, Mamas! This special Sunday edition is brought to you by annoying Pins on Pinterest! No, seriously.
Have you ever searched for those 'save money' or 'cut expenses' pins, and found the most ridiculous lists of things you should and should not do?
The one that really just stops me is the 'Cut down on your Starbucks'. This is on almost every single list I come across. And in my mind, the first thing I think is 'Really? Consumerism.' As someone who never lived closer than 25 minutes to a Starbucks, they were always something of a 'trip into town treat' for me. I never relied on them for my daily 'fix'. This may have set me up for #whitegirl failure, but I've learned to cope. In fact, I make my own coffee at home! *gasp* I bought two insulated mugs, and tote my coffee with me. Hell, I've even gone so far as to buy off brand coffee to save money! (Aldi's coffee is pretty good, actually, and I haven't bought Folgers in a long time because of it)

Mocha Frappuccino, I choose you!!

Now, I usually drink tea because of the decaf options. BUT, I always have that one cup of coffee in the morning. It's a ritual I've had for so long...

If you're really worrying about cost and convenience, I would say invest in a coffee pot. If it's just you, invest in a Keurig. True, the cost is higher up front, but think of it this way. You will have paid off that Keurig with about a month's worth of Starbuck's coffee. After that month, you'll still have the Keurig, so you're saving way more money.

As far as the old classic coffee pots go, that all depends on your needs. If you need one with an alarm that will start brewing at 7:15 A.M. because you want coffee ready to go when you get out of the shower, then go ahead and buy that one. Or, save a little more money, and just buy a basic coffee pot. Turn it on, go get in the shower, presto! It's done when you come out. Both machines require you to pre-fill with grounds and water, so save a little more money, and go with the simpler machine. The one I have cost me all of $10 at Wal-Mart. Luckily, the fancier ones are starting to come down in price, so I might just have to get one of those soon.
Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker
$24.99 at Walmart.com-- Looks Fancy!!

 So, all in all, coffee addiction is going to be a little pricey, lost most any other addiction...like purses, shoes, or crack. Did I say crack? I meant Diet Coke.

Don't feel like a frugalista failure because you fiend for your coffee. Just try and indulge in a different way!

Love ya, Mamas!