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Diary
By StackyMcRacky (Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 07:27:12 PM EST) (all tags)
merengue!

Had Phase I chat with my mother.  Some things in that area are better.  Others will take time.  Most of it won't be solved until she gets therapy and decides to not be such a martyr asshat.

Baby girl is making strides.  I had 3 meals today without crying!!!!  She was even super chatty all day, which is unusual in her behavior towards me.  Maybe we're stepping towards the less crying zone.  Also, craft projects keep The Dude happy, so I'll need to stock up on more supplies.

In other Dude news, I've been teaching him to read this summer.  I have another level of respect for homeschool parents, but maybe it's a wee bit easier when the kids aren't 3?  As usual, probably depends on the kid.  Anyway, he's doing an awesome job and is reading small, easy sentences (we're on lesson 16).  The hardest part is getting him to sit still and actually do the lessons.  The first day we argued for over an hour about it and the lesson was only 5 minutes.  Good stuff!  But he eventually does it and is pretty proud when he's finished.  In case you're wondering, we're using the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons."

About 6 weeks ago I purchased an iPod app called Home Routines.  It's a FlyLady-based housework type app.  HOLY FUCK, THIS THING IS AMAZING!  I thought I was doing a pretty good job keeping things together before, but this has taken the cleanliness of my house to a whole new level, with very little effort on my part.  The biggest deal for me is having all the detail cleaning tasks listed out.  When I have 5 minutes to clean, or just feel like listening to screaming for a while, I do one or two super easy tasks and mark them off my list.  By the end of the week, everything is done and I don't feel like I've put effort into it at all.  A++++ worth twice the price!

I'm finally off my weight-loss plateau and have 4 more pounds to go before I'm at the "official" pre-pregnancy weight.  "Official" because the month before I got pregnant I put on my usual 10 summer pounds.  Trying to lose weight in the summertime is super difficult for me, it's just too hot to go out and do anything.  I'm doing c25k three days a week and working out with a kettlebell 2 days.  And keeping the food plan going.  Overall, I feel more fit than I have since The Dude was born, so that's a plus.  My Plan is to get my weight between 155-160.  I was down to 160 May 2010, so this is very do-able.

On the food front, I read "Disease-Proof Your Child" and started implementing a new eating plan for the family.  Namely, dinners will be a salad (not yet, have to do extra medical stuff for clock before we start), the vegan entree and one of the delish desserts from the book.  Desserts are all healthy, and just a tasty extension of the meal.  I'm also leaving out a plate of fruits and veggies for The Dude that he's allowed to eat whenever he feels hungry and wants a snack.  This has stopped much fighting in the house as his natural mealtimes are about 2 hours off of when the rest of us eat.

And now my diary time is over, and I must sit with a little girl.

< Sans Everything | so I played War of the Ring yesterday >
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Katamari on the funk! | 43 comments (43 topical, 0 hidden)
lucky you by LilFlightTest (2.00 / 0) #1 Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 09:23:46 PM EST
i have about 15 lbs left, that just won't come off. Of course I'm slimming down so I know it's not all fat, but I still get depressed every time I see myself unclothed in a full length mirror.
---------
if de-virgination results in me being able to birth hammerhead sharks, SIGN ME UP!!! --misslake
after The Dude by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #2 Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 10:00:58 PM EST
I got back to my pre-preg weight in 14 weeks.  However, my body shape was radically changed and will never go back to what it once was.

Changing my diet dropped a bunch of weight off of me in 2009.  c25k last year dropped the rest off.  And so I'm back where I started in 2009.

[ Parent ]
I lost by LilFlightTest (2.00 / 0) #3 Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 10:16:05 PM EST
23 lbs in the first 2 months or so. Another 5 lbs over the next year. I take a half hour fast paced walk 4x/wk, lots of stairs, plus all that baby lifting...yet the rest of the weight just doesn't want to come off. I don't ever expect to be back to the same shape I was- for one my hips are even wider now (I will never find properly fitting pants again) but I'd like to get rid of the muffin top. I just don't know when I'll get to really work at it, given that it takes almost everything I've got to keep the house clean when i get home.
---------
if de-virgination results in me being able to birth hammerhead sharks, SIGN ME UP!!! --misslake
[ Parent ]
Hate to kill your hopes by yankeehack (2.00 / 0) #4 Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 10:38:37 PM EST
but let me know you ever find the way to rid oneself of the muffin top/wrecked muscles.

I was told that sans surgery, there isn't a way to.

 
"...she dares to indulge in the secret sport. You can't be a MILF with the F, at least in part because the M is predicated upon it."-CBB

[ Parent ]
I'm not talking about the tummy by LilFlightTest (2.00 / 0) #5 Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 10:44:24 PM EST
I'm talking the stuff on the sides. Over my hips. I know the loose skin and ruined abs won't ever look awesome.
---------
if de-virgination results in me being able to birth hammerhead sharks, SIGN ME UP!!! --misslake
[ Parent ]
I don't know about y'all... by chuckles (2.00 / 0) #6 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 01:20:13 AM EST
but I'm looking good.
"The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin [...] would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities"
[ Parent ]
Hey! by ammoniacal (2.00 / 0) #7 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 02:17:20 AM EST
Your man still wants to see you naked, so hook him up.

"To this day that was the most bullshit caesar salad I have every experienced..." - triggerfinger

[ Parent ]
still confused about that by LilFlightTest (4.00 / 4) #12 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 08:45:59 AM EST
but, I suspect it's got something to do with boobies.
---------
if de-virgination results in me being able to birth hammerhead sharks, SIGN ME UP!!! --misslake
[ Parent ]
Lady, it *always* has something to do with boobies by ammoniacal (4.00 / 5) #18 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 10:15:09 AM EST

"To this day that was the most bullshit caesar salad I have every experienced..." - triggerfinger

[ Parent ]
wait by gzt (2.00 / 0) #21 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 01:08:37 PM EST
tell us more about these boobies.

[ Parent ]
This thread is useless without by Herring (4.00 / 1) #27 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 06:58:01 PM EST
some inappropriate comment from ammo. Oh, we have one.

You can't inspire people with facts
- Small Gods
[ Parent ]
i read a blog post by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #13 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 09:13:13 AM EST
that said we all need to get over our stomach, because that's what happens when one has a baby or two.  "it's the height of feminine sexuality."

saggy skin.  i hates it.  it's like my stomach area has jowls. 

Burda patterns are the only pants that magically fit me.  seriously, just a couple of extra darts in the back to bring in the waist and that's it!  they FIT!  find a seamstress!

and re:exercise - kettlebell.  they're small to store, cheap to buy, and the workout isn't that long.  it works your core like nothing i have ever done before.  my stomach screams (especially in my incision area) every time i add a new exercise to the routine.

[ Parent ]
yes, but... by gzt (2.00 / 0) #20 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 01:08:19 PM EST
...why do people seem to care so much about "working their core"? seriously.

[ Parent ]
do you have any idea by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #26 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 06:45:48 PM EST
what having a baby does to your stomach muscles?  "working the core" gets it back to a state where you could do a single sit-up.

[ Parent ]
carry on then by gzt (2.00 / 0) #35 Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 12:51:42 AM EST
work that core!

[ Parent ]
I've got the jowls by LilFlightTest (2.00 / 0) #32 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 09:45:11 PM EST
but it's not even that that bothers me. I can handle that. I'd really just like to get rid of the extra from the hips to the knees. And it's not even that bad, when I'm clothed. It's just depressing considering that I've actually been exercising a bit.
---------
if de-virgination results in me being able to birth hammerhead sharks, SIGN ME UP!!! --misslake
[ Parent ]
gzt reminded me by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #29 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 07:34:30 PM EST
to say, it doesn't just work out the core, but the arms and legs as well.  total body workout!

[ Parent ]
(Comment Deleted) by mellow teletubby (2.00 / 0) #8 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 05:19:19 AM EST

This comment has been deleted by mellow teletubby



Hmm. by Herring (2.00 / 0) #9 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 07:14:23 AM EST
I don't know how old I was when I learned to read. I do know I was 4 when I read my first and last Agatha Christie novel. I remember being puzzled because it was narrated in the first person by a man (Poirot) but I knew it was written by a woman and girls don't smoke pipes.

You can't inspire people with facts
- Small Gods
[ Parent ]
So did I. by ammoniacal (4.00 / 1) #10 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 08:36:26 AM EST
Look how I turned out.

"To this day that was the most bullshit caesar salad I have every experienced..." - triggerfinger

[ Parent ]
English is a pain as an adult, too by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #14 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 09:13:51 AM EST


[ Parent ]
I hope for your sake by riceowlguy (2.00 / 0) #11 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 08:41:15 AM EST
that your mother does get therapy.  I'm just wondering how likely it is that, if her fundamental problem is "being a martyr asshat", that she will sign up to pay somebody to tell her on a regular basis "you are being a martyr asshat, stop it".


I had hoped by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #15 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 09:17:55 AM EST
when her twin at a CTJ with her in November she would start therapy again.  Her excuse was "it's too much work to find a therapist."

I would think a good therapist wouldn't have to say the martyr asshat part, but would be able to get to the root of all her anger and help her find healthy ways to deal with it instead of lashing out at her kids, husband and sisters all. the. time.

She's been in a great mood the last week because her twin came down with shingles.  See, last year mom got a shingles shot and told her sister to do the same.  Now get's totally high and mighty on the "I told you so!" train. 

[ Parent ]
I don't remember learning to read. by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #16 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 09:21:12 AM EST
Not really. I know I was reading some by the time I was 4, and reading (bits of) the Washington Post when I was 5. I could read the words, even if I didn't understand the articles.

But I was one of those kids who just read. All the time. Read the Narnia books when I was 8 or 9. The Hobbit right after. Then LoTR. The Silmarillion (I have a well worn 1st edition) when I was 13.

I know I read Dune when I was 11.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)

Reading by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #24 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 03:33:17 PM EST
I don't know exactly when I learned to read.  Definitely before kindergarten.  I read the Narnia books at 8 or 9.  The first adult level book I read was at around 10-11.

The kid seems on the same path.
---
[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman

[ Parent ]
You read LotR at 9? by houser2112 (2.00 / 0) #37 Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 08:37:53 AM EST
I read it for the first time at 26, and could barely get through it.  It's not particularly difficult to understand, it's just a chore to read.  If my attention span at 26 was barely enough to get through it, I can't imagine how difficult it would have been for me at 9.

[ Parent ]
Probably 10 or 11 by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #39 Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 10:26:29 AM EST
After The Hobbit. I know I read it before 6th grade (12 years old), which was when I read Dune I probably skipped over words I didn't know.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)
[ Parent ]
I remember Hobbit in 3rd grade, by wumpus (2.00 / 0) #44 Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 11:30:15 PM EST
but maybe the teacher read it to us first. Bounced off the Rings several times until reading it 6th grade.

I'm not sure about the Silmarilion. I'm pretty sure I couldn't slog through that until around 18 (plus or minus), but that was a chore. Didn't try again until my thirties, and noticed it wasn't a problem.

I remember my father trying to teach me to read. For some reason, I thought that the teachers in school would have a much easier means of getting me to read than having me do any work. I was also told that I came back the first day of school disappointed that they didn't teach me to read. To be perfectly honest, I still haven't forced myself to learn any math I need without a test hanging over me.

Wumpus

[ Parent ]
Silmarillion was a Christmas Present. by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #45 Thu Jun 23, 2011 at 01:17:20 PM EST
I read it that day.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)
[ Parent ]
(Comment Deleted) by mellow teletubby (2.00 / 0) #40 Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 04:23:59 PM EST

This comment has been deleted by mellow teletubby



[ Parent ]
Thanks for the Home Routines info by marvin (2.00 / 0) #17 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 09:22:39 AM EST
I mentioned it to my wife, and she got it immediately - she had been wanting a Flylady app, but wasn't really sure about which one. Your recommendation made it easier.

i hope it works out by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #19 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 12:05:49 PM EST
FlyLady has an app she officially recommends, but I didn't like the way it looked.  Home Routines just made sense to me.

[ Parent ]
I'm trying to sell my wife by barooo (2.00 / 0) #22 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 02:39:51 PM EST
on the idea of flylady or some sort of routine, but she's all "are you stupid, just clean shit when you have a few minutes, why do you need an app and a system for that?".

My problem is, I never know what to clean or where to start so having a list of quick tasks I could do and mark off would help.  I suppose I could just start doing it, but then I'd never know what she had already done, and I'd then start doing the ol' "eh, this looks like I can skip it" and then I'm back at square 1.

So, what do you think is the benefit?  If someone asked you why, what would you say?

Or more directly, I'm asking why. 
man, i need a beefy taco now.
-gzt
[ Parent ]
my benefit by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #28 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 07:25:13 PM EST
it works with the life i currently have.  back in the pre-kids days, clock and i would clean the house one night a week.  it would take an hour to get the whole thing totally scrubbed.  any other clean-y type projects could be done on the odd weeknight or weekend.

then cam The Dude.  you think you can magically get everything done during nap time, but there's a frack-ton of stuff that needs to get done and nap time seems woefully short.  also, now "cleaning" has different stuff than it did before:  certain walls and doors need to be washed on a regular basis due to messy hand prints.  and i have to vacuum under couch cushions every week because of all the food that ends up under them (and food is banned from the living room, so i'm not sure how it happens).  you get the idea.  having a general "i'm focusing on the bedrooms this week" along with weekly cleaning routines worked just fine when it was just The Dude.  the point is you don't have the free time you once did.  hell, you need to take 5 minutes for yourself every now and again just to sit without another human touching you (moms who nurse totally know what I'm talking about here!).

now I have a very needy baby along with The Dude.  time is in even shorter supply than it was before.  having a list of detail tasks makes it so easy for me.  i like not having to think, because there is so. much. screaming. in my household that i can't think clearly anymore.  also, having that written list of what "cleaning the bedroom" means helps me as well!  pre-kids i thought it was way too AR to write it all down.  now, it means my house stays consistently super-clean (at the same level as when the Maid Brigade came in and spent 8 man-hours to get my house presentable again at the end of my pregnancy) and I don't feel completely overtaxed in the process.  and let me tell you, my stress level has been HIGH these last 3.5 months so "overtaxing" me doens't take much work.  some days i have time for no tasks, other days i get 15 completed.  at the end of the week, they're all done and we have weekends 100% free to do whatever the fuck we want to!

if you're like we were pre-kids, there might not be much value in an app (or even a system), but if you have kids like mine it makes a HUGE difference.  then again, if you have mythical kids like my mother did - kids who sat quietly in the corner and played by themselves all day (really, she says we were like that) - then this app won't do much for you (my mom makes fun of the fact i have a system and an app).

from your not knowing what to clean or where to start aspect - it could help a lot.  you think about it just once to get it mapped out, then it's check off a list from then on.

[ Parent ]
quick elaboration by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #30 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 07:47:43 PM EST
when i was winging cleaning a room, i would always do A, B and C.  they were low-hanging fruit and obvious.  however, M, N and O really needed to be done every cleaning cycle but they weren't as obvious and tended to get skipped.  with the app, i do them all and then some.

[ Parent ]
You fucking rule, you know. by ambrosen (2.00 / 0) #31 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 08:08:09 PM EST
I am in awe of how super together you and the good timepiece have your shit.

Excuse the enthusiastic outburst, but I just needed to say it.

[ Parent ]
thanks! by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #38 Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 08:53:51 AM EST
we don't feel particularly "super together" most of the time, we're just trying to do the best we can with what we have.  it helps a lot that we sat down long ago and defined what was important, when you drop stuff you don't feel so guilty!

[ Parent ]
I'll buy her for £100. by ambrosen (2.00 / 0) #41 Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 04:30:48 PM EST
Oh, wait a second, just read the body of that message. Apparently the title's slightly misleading.

[ Parent ]
I was hoping by barooo (2.00 / 0) #42 Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 06:07:02 PM EST
someone would take that one. 
man, i need a beefy taco now.
-gzt
[ Parent ]
Nice one. by ambrosen (2.00 / 0) #43 Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 06:21:54 PM EST
Internet high fives all round!

[ Parent ]
I recall asking mom to shine a light on her belly by notafurry (4.00 / 1) #23 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 02:49:02 PM EST
It was really hard to read in there without more light.

Our kids, unsurprisingly, are progressing at about the same rate on reading - even though the boy is a year younger. Anything his sister can do, he's determined to master, and anything he starts to catch up on, she gets determined to improve. At least in this case it's a positive effect.

Be careful with what you wish for by MartiniPhilosopher (2.00 / 0) #25 Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 04:25:59 PM EST
I started reading around 4 when my parents started refusing to read my favorite books at bedtime, insisting that I could do it.

Inside of six months, I was going through the newspaper every evening asking what words meant and sounding them out. I had discovered a new way to drive both my parents crazy. One for which retaliation was not an option.

Whenever I hear one of those aforementioned douche bags pontificate about how dangerous [...] videogames are I get a little stabby. --Wil Wheaton.

I encourage reading by anonimouse (2.00 / 0) #36 Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 01:36:45 AM EST
...by simply saying that whilst the children have a fixed bedtime, they are entitled to read books (no tv/ music) until they want.

Girls come and go but a mortgage is for 25 years -- JtL
[ Parent ]
Katamari on the funk! | 43 comments (43 topical, 0 hidden)

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