Early wake up call!?!?... not exactly!

I mentioned in earlier posts that I had not kept up my hope of waking up early in order to get myself ready before the kids wake up... well today was slightly different.  Butterball awoke at approximately 5:40 am - I know this because I opened one eye to check the clock as I heard him calling for ADG... yeah it is pretty awesome that he ALWAYS call out "DADDY" when he wakes up in the morning, he actually gets pissed when I walk in the room to get him.  So I have basically decided ADG should always be the one to go in (others do not share this opinion)... I prefer to not piss off anyone first thing in the morning (because I am thoughtful that way).  Back to this morning... so it was 5:40am (which is 5 minutes before my alarm* goes off) and after a few minutes ADG rolled out of bed and went to Butterball, a diaper was changed and they both came back into the bedroom and got into bed.  Butterball requested a bah-bah** and to watch Barney.  It was 6 o'clock at that point and I turned on the TV - Butterball drank his milk while ADG snored and I tried to sleep for a few more minutes.  Then I was rudely awakened by an excruciating headbutt to the nose... yeah that's right a 2 year olds rock of a skull slammed into my nose!  I let out a yelp (sort of) and jumped out of bed - which resulted in Butterball bursting into tears!  I never appreciate when a small child crys when they are the one who inflected the pain... yeah I know I startled him with my scream yelp, but really I was the one who should have been crying!  Not the best way to start the day, but thankfully there was very little blood and no swelling... Happy Friday to me!

*My alarm starts to go off at 5:45am, but then I hit the snooze button 3 or 4 times before I actually get out of bed.  I tried setting a second alarm - my cellphone - to go off 20 minutes after the first alarm.  I even put the phone on my dresser which would force me to get out of bed to turn it off... you would think well you are out of bed just head into the bathroom at this point - YOU ARE ALREADY OUT OF BED FOR GOD SAKE!  Yeah... that did not work after the 1st day... honestly I blame day light savings time and the weather.  It is so dark in the morning I swear (everyday) that the clock must be wrong, I actually ponder whether I may have accidentally changed the time on the clock when I turned on the alarm the night before...  I seriously think about that every morning!  It actually happened twice in my life - yes 2 times and I continue to think about it everyday (Monday through Friday... weird how I do not think about it on the weekends... huh?).

** Yes I admit my 2 year old son stills drinks milk from a bottle - one before bed and one first thing in the morning... I know you are "suppose to" discontinue the bottle soon after they turn 1 but I just could not.  I am actually feeling pretty proud of myself for not giving him any bottles during the day (even though he still asks).  We thought we were the last parents to stop sending a bottle to daycare for naptime but now we think one of the kids in his daycare class still drinks formula!  I can't wrap my head around a 2 year old still drinking formula- it is SO expensive!  I stopped buying formula the second Butterball turned 1 - I think I may have even run out a few days shy of his first birthday and did not buy anymore.  So we are still working on the whole bottle thing - it is comforting for everyone involved... it soothes Butterball and I hate to say it, but it gives me a few minutes of quiet as well.  I am sure we will be weaned off the bottle soon, but for now I am good with just the 2 a day... don't judge me (out loud anyway)... I generally keep my judgements to myself... unless you count this blog where I tell it all... whatever!

Still on track...

So the eating healthy is still working out for me... the early rising is dead and buried!  So I have a product review of sorts... Lean Cuisine Pot Stickers!

I have been pleasantly surprised with the Lean Cuisine Market Creations line and my absolute favorite is the Chicken Pot Stickers.

This meal is delicious and it really is a meal!  I mean you do not even need a salad to make you feel full - you get 5 or 6 pot stickers and lots of yummy veggies in a delicious "sweet chili ginger soy sauce".  It nukes up in 5 minutes in the microwave!  If you are a weight watchers member this meal has 7 point (that is the pp+ points value).  Sometimes I get a little fancy and steal borrow a real plate from my companies cafeteria and if it happens to be sushi day I grab some chopsticks and go to town (a fancy town) on this for lunch!

Today I tried the Asian Style Pot Stickers from the Simple Favorites collection:

This one was not nearly as good as the other one - the pot stickers themselves tasted the same, but that was the only good thing I could say about this.  The portion was small, the rice was so-so and the sauce was just OK.  The 2 main negatives on this item (I can't call it a meal - I was still hungry after eating it) was 1. it took 8 minutes in the microwave!  Seriously 8 minutes - that is forever in my book!  and 2. it has the same points plus value (7) as the other meal!  It was half the size for crying out loud!

When attempting to eat on the healthy side my main objective is to get the most out of every meal - I need delicious-ness (not sure if that is an actual word - but you know exactly what I mean) and a strong return on my health initiative investment.

Other things I am enjoying lately -
Wholly Guacamole 100 Calorie snack packs - portion control and absolute delicious-ness (there is that word again) all in one!

Laughing Cow Cheese wedges - I like all the flavors but this on is great in a turkey quesadillas!

Kellogg's Fiber Plus bars - not sure if they will have similar results to the FiberOne bar issue I wrote about earlier but these are equally delicious... especially this flavor:



It basically says - screw you Girl Scouts and your Samoas (or for the more politically correct - Carmel deLites) cookies!  This has all the same flavors and fiber too! 

I am hoping that maybe by posting pictures of these items and saying how much I like them that some one from the marketing department of the companies that produce these products will send me a free supply... I know that not that many people read this blog, but a girl can dream!

It has been a while...

I am happy to report that I am 1 for 2 in my quest for better habits - I am have kept up the healthier eating and I am thrilled to have lost 7 pounds at this point!  On the other side of the coin the whole waking up early has waned a bit.  I was really good the first week, the second week was OK, but this past week I am all banged up... from falling of the proverbial wagon.  The only thing keeping me on time in the morning is a new haircut that reduces the amount of drying time.
Princess was up to something - she was uncharacteristically good yesterday morning... no arguing about getting dressed, voluntarily went into the bathroom to brush her teeth, even brought her breakfast dishes to the sink without being asked!  As she was helping her brother on with his coat (actually helping him, not even trying to wrap it around him backwards like a straight jacket), ADG wanted to know if I knew what Princess wanted (as we have never seen this type of behavior unless she has a motive for getting something).  I said I was not sure yet... at the end of the day her motive was revealed... Justin Beiber!  It appears that our 5 year old has a mild case of Beiber fever! When ADG picked the kids up from daycare Princess told him she was so excited to see the Justin Beiber movie on Saturday - she just can't wait! We have tentative plans to see the movie on Saturday afternoon with a couple of her girlfriends (and their moms)... I am not sure if she will enjoy to the movie (she has never seen a movie in the theatre that was not animated), but I am pretty sure I will enjoy it.  I am a curious about Justin Beiber - I do not know that much about him, but ever since a couple of his songs were featured on GLEE I have felt my temperature rising!

Thoughts, confessions, observations...

A Thought...
So it is Thursday and I am happy to be able to say I have stayed true (so far) to my attempt to 1. wake up earlier and 2. eat healthier... 3 days down and the 4th day is off to a promising start.  I have actually been arriving at work on time (or even early) which was not really my initial thought process behind getting up early (no need to tell my boss that little tidbit), it was so that I might be able to shower and get ready without an audience.  Butterball likes to join me in the bathroom whenever I am in there, he also insists on sitting on my lap while I attempt to apply my make-up with one hand, and likes me to turn my hairdryer on him while I am trying to dry and style my own hair... as you can imagine that can add a few extra minutes on to my morning routine. So the waking up early has allowed me to be close to ready when the kids wake up (like just about to get dressed), in addition I have found time to apply lotion after my shower!  Which is nice because dry, rough skin is not exactly the look I was going for.

A Confession...
I enjoy Fiber One bars (that is not the confession) - they are both nutritious and delicious... truly a winning combination.  So the confession is... when I eat a Fiber One bar I (and others) must suffer because they cause me a ridiculous amount of gas!  I guess it is the large amount of fiber in each bar (9 grams - that is 35% of your daily fiber intake)!  I have a bar with me today, and when ADG saw me put it in my lunch bag he just sighed assuming tonight is going to be a rough one.  But I think I have been eating healthier, taking in more fiber on a daily basis, drinking lots more water than usual... I think I might have worked my way up to being able to eat one Fiber One bar without the prior outcome(s).  We will wait an see - I plan to eat it as my late afternoon snack... I don't to kill anyone in my office... I like to save it for my family!

An Observation...

I think all parents become human garbage cans at some point - children always give their parents whatever they don't want or won't finish... and some of us are just stupid and eat it (most likely it fell on the floor or was sneezed on, but that is besides the point)!  That is definitely one of the reason for a few of the extra pounds I have packed on over the years.  Last night after my children had politely excused themselves from the dinner table begged to be allowed to leave the table to go play - I sat at the table looking at there barely touched plates and thought for a minute about eating their left over food.  I had finished my own dinner, but I am not sure what I was feeling... I did not want the food to go waste, I could not really save it.... no it's that I have become a human garbage can!  Well I am happy to say I restrained myself and did not eat it... I can't say the same for my better half, but that is he's fish to fry!

I gotta run... you know all the extra water I have drinking... that has its own effects!

Monday Minute

Questions
(1) Do you use shaving cream when you shave?
(2) Name 2 things you consider yourself to be very bad at.
(3) What's your favorite song?
(4) If somebody asked you to sum yourself up in three words, what would they be?
(5) Out of the following three, which do you hate most: pineapples, cantaloupe, or strawberries?

Answers

(1) I do not use shaving cream when I shave - I use the Schick Intuition Plus - it has the shaving gel surrounding the razor!  I like because I am lazy and do not like to take the time to lather up before I start to shave my legs.  In a pinch (if my schick razor is on its last legs and the gel is almost gone) I will use hair conditioner.

(2) I am not good at lots of things... but I am only suppose to list 2...

a. I am bad at maintaining a schedule/plan if depends solely on me - let me explain.  I am greater talker, planner, motivator of others... but when it comes to me I am basically your classic slacker.  I have grand plans of starting things like diets, exercise programs, crafts, fabulously thoughtful gifts that take a long time to create/prepare... yet they are either short lived or dead before they actually get started.   

b. Parallel Parking - I am absolutely terrible at parallel parking!  I can only do it in a small car on the left side of the street - meaning I have to be on a one way street where you can park on both sides of the street.  I will drive around and around and even forgo the errand if I can not find head on parking.

(3) This is hard because I have lots of favorite songs (probably as many as the number of things I am bad at) - today I will say my favorite song is Rosalita by Bruce Springsteen.

(4) Three words - funny, loving, resourceful

(5) I actually like all three, but cantaloupe is my least favorite.

So in honor of question number 2(a) I have decided to try to start 2 new habits today... 1. I would like to wake up earlier and be ready before the kids wake up and 2. eat healthier.  So far both I have accomplished both today - well I did not get up as early as I had planned to, but it was considerably early than usual (I'll take it) and I brought my own breakfast, lunch and snacks with me to work today.  We will see how long I can make this last.

So very odd!

We are in the midst of yet another snow storm here in the North East... and like I have requested many times before (as we have had numerous snow storms this winter already (enough already mother f*#king nature)) I told Princess to put on her socks as I placed her snow boots in front of her... I guess she was either really excited about wearing the snow boots or (most likely) just not paying attention because she only put on one sock!  This was not discovered until she arrived at school and went to put on her regular shoes.  Seriously, who forgets to put on the OTHER sock?... Probably the same girl that told be she would rather wear her underpants backward than take the time to remove her jeans in order to turn them around.

Eagles

My husband (ADG) is a die-hard NY Giants fan - season ticket holder, has numerous pieces of apparel with the Giants logo and/or in Giants colors, etc.  So naturally he loathes does not care for the Philadelphia Eagles (among other teams).  You can only imagine how devastated he was to here Princess declare that she likes the Eagles, because they wear green and white "outfits".  He has tried to persuade her to change her mind but she will have none of it.
Yesterday on the ride home from school Princess asked me "who do we vote for?"  I was thinking politics (of course... when else do you vote)... she followed up with "is it the Steelers or the Jets?"... I responded that Daddy was rooting - not voting - for the Steelers on Sunday, because he does not like the Jets.  She told me again that she likes the Eagles... then she told me why she really has to like the Eagles:

"I like the Eagles because I like birds and if I did not like the Eagles that would mean I don't like birds, and I really like birds."

ADG did not agree with her theory but has decided to let it go... until September.