wishing on stars...

Fall weather in Oklahoma is amazing. Mornings and evenings are cool, and the days are warm. I was wondering yesterday... if the weather stayed like this year round, would I get tired of it? I'm not sure. As long as there was variety and we had an occasional rainy day or day cool enough to wear a hoodie, I think I'd love it. The one thing I miss is colors. Leaves here change, and are pretty, but they lack the brilliance and POP of those in the north.

Baby Girl is growing and changing so much! She crawls ALL over the place now. I love watching her go full speed ahead in pursuit of some object. Things that never fail to get her attention: the remote, laptop, or cell phone left on the coffee table. It's like she has a radar for these things. She also like to pull things off the small pantry shelf in the laundry room, and try to gnaw through the packages... things like oreos or fruit cups. She babbles almost incessantly, with great fervor and a myriad of expressions. I can't wait for the day when I can understand what she's telling me. Her new favorite food is cheerios, which she can feed herself and grips in her little fist as if they were long-lost treasure. She's amazing.

Exercise is going well, in the consistency realm. And wonder of wonders, I am actually ENJOYING the workouts. TurboJam. Not bad, really. Not annoying and not too intimidating. My only complaint is that the numbers I see on the scale are barely dropping, even though I'm working my butt off several times a week and watching what I eat. Numbers aren't dropping, but my jeans are fitting better and there is less baby fat hanging around. So I am grateful for that... It's just... wouldn't you think that after six+ weeks of exercising a person would see more weight loss than 5 pounds? Maybe not. Guess I'm just impatient! Eventually I WILL get into that next smaller size of jeans, and then after that the jeans that are stored away til I fit back in them... my goal!

I'd like to break into the world of Etsy. It's such a delightful place of whimsy and discovery and charm and fun! There's a few ideas in my head, and am very slowly getting my shop set up. Anyone have tips or ideas on how to make an Etsy shop successful?

This song has been stuck in my head for a couple of days (thank you Army Wives)... it made me think though and reminded me to continually ask God for help and guidance, even when it seems that I don't "need" it.

"...Wishing on stars only when you see 'em
Is like asking God for help only when you need it
But I'm wishing anyway...."

tuesday

Today was an ok day. Baby Girl was mostly cheerful, but her naps were less than they should have been and her awake time was spent wanting to be held every other minute. Being needed constantly has a way of wearing on a person. But she's adorable, so I can't complain. She's getting more mobile every day... she pulls up on everything she can and this afternoon I found her stuck in the bottom of her exersaucer. She was very frustrated but it was quite adorable.

The mornings and evenings are now delightfully cool. Crisp, even. Very much fall-like. Weather like this puts me in the mood for baking... and so I made muffins this morning. I made these, minus the sugar and plus some chopped apples and cinnamon. Delicious AND healthy. I also made a batch of these for Baby Girl to munch on. (Natural Teething Biscuits, 9th recipe down) She approved.

finally

This post was going to start with me sharing about how I have made another resolution to blog regularly. However, knowing that I've said that innumerable times in the past and not really stuck with it, I don't think I will say that. I'll just think it, and we'll see what happens.

Newflash: my many resolutions to exercise more are finally sticking. I have walked a mile and a half at least 5xs a week for the past month and now I'm adding in a separate cardio workout 3xs a week (or more!). Baby Girl loves our walks. She sits up in her stroller and chatters at passing trees, the neighborhood dogs, and birds that fly by. The cardio I fit in at naptime. I'm not dreading my workouts as much as I thought I would. In fact, I would even dare to say that I enjoy them. How shocking is THAT? Maybe partly due to the cooler weather, maybe it's more than that. I'm mainly using the Turbo Jam dvds, with a little Pilates here and there for variety. I will say that if you happened to catch sight of me doing TurboJam, you'd probably be quite entertained... my moves aren't quite as smooth as the people on the video. ;) Also, when Husby's schedule gets him home early enough, he and I will go for a run with Baby Girl in the stroller. It's SO incredibly helpful to have someone to work out with! He and I have set a goal to each lose at least 20lbs. by Christmas. I'm starting to get really excited about getting back to where I was 2 years ago... Three cheers for liking how you look and not having to worry about fitting into things! There's one particular little black dress I have that I never got to wear (thank you lost luggage!) that I'll wear on a snazzy date with my man. Maybe I'll fit into it by our 2nd anniversary in January. How awesome would that be?!?!

Interesting concept

Here's a new site someone told me about... I'll have to look into it. Any thoughts?

www.robinsoncurriculum.com

Husby and I plan to teach our kids at home... or at least start that way. There are just so many methods and resources available!

no progress

I am not making progress... Well, at least not visible. I HAVE been watching portions and trying to eat more nutritiously. It is very slow going. I could easily make excuses but really, what's the point of that? Truth is, my self-control and motivation are extremely lacking. Yes, I have been in a hotel for half of the past two weeks (staying with Husby while he works out of town) and eating snacks all day and going out for dinner isn't exactly conducive to weight control. My wish right now would be for a babysitter a few times a week so I could go work out. Ideally, a neighbor. But alas, I don't know any of them and they all seem kinda kooky. (the joys of apartment dwelling!) I keep wishing for the humidity to go away so I could enjoy being outside, and for the heat warnings to be over so I don't have to worry about Caitlyn getting overheated. What will it take for me to get control of this part of my life?

I'm being a bit dramatic...

gotta get away

It's a very gray day and I'm sitting in a hotel room, watching tv and surfing the net. Outside the window (which overlooks a beautiful pool area) rain has been falling intermittently all morning long. Baby Girl is sleeping in her pack'n'play, and Husby is at the job site. His company's current project is nearing completion and there are workers on site 7 days a week. Thus, a superintendent must be there to oversee, and this weekend is my man's turn. Lucky for us, Baby and I were able to come visit and spend the weekend with him. Almost a mini-vaca... minus the part where Husby has to be at work. But being together every evening is incredibly nice, and something I will never take for granted again!

So far my vows to exercise regularly have resulted in epic failure. A day or two a week I manage to convince myself to get out and DO something active... Other than that, phooey. I don't know what my problem is... Besides the unbearably hot and humid weather. I keep telling myself that if I get a jogging stroller I'll start running and stick with it. Ummm... yeah... when has any other resolution like that worked? Or there's the T-tapp workout that looks extremely intriguing and requires nothing more than empty floor space. Maybe I need to arrange childcare for Caitlyn a few evenings a week and then I can at least go run on the elliptical. Gotta do SOMETHING!

Cute Mom TShirt Giveaway!

Yes, today seems to be all about giveaways. But who doesn't love free stuff?

This giveaway is for a really fun tshirt, and you'll get to select the saying you want if you win!