Merry Christmas and Stuff, Ya'll

Merry Christmas, everyone!  Or Happy Hanukkah, or whatever it is that you participate in this time of year!

Our holiday has been a great one, and of course it was the first one with the baby.  He didn't need much (or anything for that matter) given that he's only 4 months old, but of course he received some great gifts anyway!

With his new Lollacup from Nicki and Brian.

Over the next week, it will be time to decide what my New Years resolutions are.  I think this year, besides a few typical resolutions, I'm going to make some new ones that revolve around completing a few planned projects.  Some of these projects have been on my To-Do list for way too long - others for just a short while.  Here are a few of the projects on my list:

1.  Print and frame photos.  I have had plans in my mind FOREVER to print out some of my favorite photos and frame them around the house.  I visit other peoples' homes and see photos everywhere and it reminds me that I need to take the time to do the same! 

Cool photo canvas collage idea.

2.  Create photo books and box frames.  I have photos and memorabilia from trips Lucas and I have taken over the years, and I have had plans to create a photo book for each trip and collage the memorabilia into shadow boxes.  I originally planned to scrapbook each trip, but I think the task would be WAY more likely to get itself done if I just let Walgreen's create photo books for me.  So I just need to organize my photos into files and buy some shadow boxes for the rest.

Except mine will have trip memorabilia in them.

3.  Update my address book.  I've got addresses located everywhere...in an old address book, in notebooks, on pieces of paper, on saved letter envelopes, on Facebook....and I need to get them all into one place.

I want an address book with this cover!

4.  Re-velcro diapers.  Some of the used diaper covers I've purchased off Ebay (before I knew to ask) have extremely weak velcro on them, which needs to be replaced.  I've already bought the velcro, I just need to replace the old stuff.  It just takes time that I haven't allotted for myself yet!  And I'll actually be able to resell some of them for a decent chunk of change once I fix them (since I have an overstock)!

I just wanted to add in a pic of this year's holiday gdiaper!  I didn't buy Delano one, but it sure is cute!

5.  Magazine day.  This is a new project of mine.....to sit around one day and read magazines!  I have a fat stack of magazines that I haven't even touched since having had the baby, and there are others I've been saving for certain articles and/or recipes that I need to tear out.  I haven't gone through them because it seems so unproductive.  But yet they need to be gone through!

Pretty much.....

So besides the typical resolutions of eating better, running more and getting the scale back down to my pre-baby weight (THEN back down to my PRE-pre-baby weight), those five things are what I want to accomplish this year.  I'm actually hoping that I get them all done sooner than later, because then I can work on new projects!

Nom nom nom presents!!

Sweet Christmas baby!

Upside-Down Heart-Shaped Pudges

Lucas is an ass man.

Sure, he likes boobs, as does any straight man and boy out there.  But some men are boob men, some are leg men, some like a juicy pair of lips, and others are all about the eyes.  And then there are those with a serious foot fetish.  Lucas's "body part" of choice is the booty.  Which I greatly lack.  Sorry, Lucas.

If I had Nicki Minaj's booty, Lucas would seriously be in heaven.

Yesterday, Lucas took me shopping for new jeans.  I have two pairs of jeans right now that fit (though my had-a-baby-muffin-top still floweth over) and I wear them DAILY.  They say some moms live in sweat pants and sweatshirts.  Others in yoga gear.  I live in blue jeans and tshirts.  And maybe a sweater if it's cold outside and I need to leave the house.  But if you happen to run into me one day, it's a given that jeans and a tshirt are what's on my body.  I have no need to dress up, as most stay-at-home moms don't.  And it's not like I'm throwing on the heels on the weekends anymore like I used to.

I don't feel like I dress frumpy.  Just plain and boring in my array of old Chili's tshirts.

So in the store, I grab a couple of styles of jeans in a couple of different sizes to take into the dressing room.  My standard go-to is the boot cut, which I instantly grabbed.  But I grabbed some skinny jeans as well because Lucas wanted to see them.  And I grabbed a different style/brand from the shelf that looked like it was in the boot cut family.

The difference between me and Lucas is, while I'm putting on jeans, I'm looking at my muffin top while Lucas is looking at my butt.  He wasn't even remotely glancing at my waist (until I pointed it out, of course).  The last pair of jeans I grabbed were the first I put on.  I knew I was in trouble the second they hit my calves.....they were a lot more form-fitting and stretchier than I first thought.  As I'm hiking them over my butt and buttoning them around my waist, Lucas is already nodding "yes" while I'm thinking, "ewww".  Sure, from the back, I admit I looked pretty good.  But the jeans buttoned precisely into the little upside-down heart-shaped pudge that is my muffin top, therefore causing it to be OVER the top of my jeans.  So the conversation goes something like this:

Lucas:  Yep.  I like'em.
Me:  You like them?
Lucas:  Uh-huh.  They make you look like you actually have an ass.
Me:  Have you not SEEN my waist?
Lucas:  What about it?
Me:  What about it?!  Look at it!  My belly is pouring over them like a busted can of biscuits!
Lucas:  (rolls his eyes) Nobody's looking at that!  Everybody's going to be looking at your butt.
Me:  Haha no they're not.  Just you, sir.  These are too small.
Lucas:  I think you should try on a size smaller.
Me:  A size smaller??!!  Now you've really lost your mind.  If anything I need a size bigger.
Lucas:  No way.  These are perfect.

What Lucas saw.

What I saw. (Not actually a pic of my belly, though it could be!)

Granted, I found it to be a really sweet sentiment that I was all concerned about my waistline while Lucas thought it was a silly concern and that "nobody's looking at that".  At least I know that HE'S not disappointed with my waistline.  I mean, I did just birth his child 4 months ago, so he'd better not be!  Only kidding.  But a girl does get paranoid when she has a baby (or just simply goes through some weight gain) and her body doesn't look like it did before.  You worry that your other half isn't pleased with the "after", especially when you're not even pleased with it yet.  Turns out Lucas is still just trying to make my butt look bigger/rounder/firmer/like it exists.

I guess it's just the difference between men and women.  I feel like everybody will be looking at my waist.  And maybe that's because a lot of women out there WILL be.  Women can't help but compare themselves to other women, especially the parts of their own bodies that they consider flawed.  But the men are just out there checking out their favorite part(s).

Yep.

We both dismissed the skinny jeans (neither one of us liked them) and Lucas nixed the basic boot cut jeans before I even had the chance to button them, so I left with the first pair.

Lucas was pleased, but now I've been given even more of an incentive to lose this final gaggle of baby weight.  I'll never have a washboard stomach no matter how hard I try, and now that I've had a baby I'll probably always be sporting the upside-down heart-shaped pudge in the front, but I can at least work towards feeling a little better about it all!

For this, though, it was all worth it:

Happy 4 months, Delano!!

Fa-La-La-La-La......Where's The Egg Nog??

There are two weeks until Christmas!  Are YOU ready?

This guy is READY.

I'm decently ready for Christmas. 

Lucas and I don't do gifts, so that's one thing I don't have to worry about.  Though I guess in the future we'll have to start so that our children don't think Santa doesn't like us.  One year we decided to start a tradition that involved a letter, a color, the East Ridge antique mall, a $50 budget and a one-hour time limit.  It was super fun the year we did it, but we failed at making it happen again.  We really should, though.  It was fun.  Lucas ended up with a pineapple lamp and a glass panther planter.  :)

The only gift my parents have wanted from their kids for the past several years is an updated photo, so that's easy every year.  Sometimes we do a sibling picture all together, and sometimes we do separate pictures.  But we always try to be creative.  One year we recreated a picture of the three of us from when we were little....even knocked on the door of the house we grew up in to ask if we could borrow their tree.  We didn't fit in it quite as easily, but it worked!

My brothers and I do stockings each year with a $50 limit per stocking.  These are fun, and tend to get creative.  Budgets always make things creative.  As well as the fact that everything is SUPPOSED to fit into the stocking!

I've gotten a couple of little things for Delano, but he's still too little to want anything, and he NEEDS nothing.  But I still want to have some presents to wrap!  I can't NOT buy my child presents!  And actually, I just realized I bought him some underwear.  Hahaha!  Go figure.  But they're so cute....

Come on....he's going to look adorable in these!!!

Speaking of Delano's underwear, we are now at an "in between" stage with his gdiapers.  The transition between the newborns and the smalls was smooth.  But there's a bigger size difference between the smalls and mediums, and I guess Delano hasn't chunked up in the thighs fast enough to make the jump.  The mediums are still too big and we're pushing it on the smalls.  He's had some pee leaks in both sizes.  He's also been leaking through his other diapers, too.  The only one he hasn't leaked through so far has been his Otter Blotters one, and I only own ONE of those!  Granted, he's only leaked through his Swaddlebees ONCE.  And I currently have five of those.

This is my actual Otter Blotters.  It's kind of a complicated diaper (both velcro AND snaps to deal with) and I only have one insert for it, but it's worked great for me.

I own this Swaddlebees diaper, though the one in this pic is not mine.  Mine are all All-In-Ones, so they're a one-use diaper each time, but EASY PEASY to use and wash!

Sidenote:  I made a comment in the past that I don't like diapers with snaps.  I've decided that I don't hate diapers with the side snaps like the one above.  Though velcro is still the easiest, these aren't bad at all.  But I still don't like the ones that front-snap, like this:

What the front looks like open.

Snaps are very popular, because they outlast velcro.  And most companies will convert your velcro diapers to snap diapers for a small fee if you want.  Just fyi.  :)

So anyway....I've been experimenting with diaper combinations and Googling info trying to find a "cure" for the leaking diapers, because cloth diapers shouldn't leak if you're doing everything right.  To sum it up, Delano is currently wearing the Swaddlebees, the Otter Blotters and the small-sized gdiapers with a disposable liner during the day.....I'm making sure the interior fleece liner of his Happy Heinys is tucked completely within the waistband of his diaper at night.....I'm making sure his pee-pee is pointing DOWN when I diaper him.....and it's time to strip all of my cloth diapers and liners (which I will do tomorrow).  So hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow we'll be in good shape!

Go figure that I went from talking about Christmas to talking about my diapers.  I talk about them a lot, don't I?  Ah well.  They're a big part of my life nowadays! 

But now it's time to let the dogs out to pee and get ready for bed....aka, be up feeding Delano the next hour or so.  Instead of asking me if I'm ready for bed, Lucas asks me if I'm ready to go watch him sleep.  :)

With a face like this, how can you be upset about it?  :)

Friendships Are a Funny Thing.

I have a couple of best friends, a handful close friends, a gaggle of friends and loads of acquaintances. I think that's how most of us roll, right?

I had best friends in elementary school that I really wish had made it the long haul to adulthood.  Some lasted longer than others (and I lived with a couple of my childhood besties my first year of college), but we ultimately grew up and grew apart.  Some of my childhood friendships faded due to attending different middle and/or high schools, some faded due to the following of different high school cliques, and some faded due to fights, fibs and other dumb reasons (we grew apart due to our immaturities at the time).  Therefore, I think ALL of my childhood friendships ended up in the "acquaintance" category.  And it's really too bad, because I had some awesome friends back then.

Another group of friends that have ended up in the "acquaintance" category over the years is work friends.  It is so disheartening to feel like you have all these awesome, close friends.....only to change jobs and suddenly they disappear (or maybe they felt YOU disappeared).  Nothing ever HAPPENED...there were no fights or ill feelings or anything at all.....but the mere fact that you don't work together anymore changed the ENTIRE dynamic of the friendship.  This has been true everywhere I've worked, whether it's been an office job or a serving job or another job.  Now I HAVE noticed (via Facebook) that some of these work relationships have actually worked out between old coworkers (turning them into close friends or even besties), even though the friends don't work together anymore.  And that's awesome.  There are a couple of old work friends I would consider close friends today, but only a few.

I found this image while Googling "work friends".  They're right.....I was never coming back!

The other biggest "acquaintance" category, thanks to social media, has been people I went to high school with.  These friends come out of the woodwork.  Some of these friends I really like a lot and wonder why we never made more of a friend effort back in the day (or I know why we didn't and think it's a darn shame).  Some of these friends have changed over the years...some in a GOOD way (no longer the jerk they used to be) and some in a BAD way (being a grownup hasn't "taken" so well).  Some haven't changed at all (they do realize they're not in high school anymore, right? Right??).  And some I'm still trying to figure out who the hell they are. 

Other friends become acquaintances when my relationship status changed.  And not necessarily because they were HIS friend first (any of the "hises" from my past).  Just because some friends were my friend because I was in THAT relationship and it conveniently worked into their lifestyle as well as mine.

Then there are my friends, which is a MUCH smaller group than my acquaintances.  "Friend" is a vague category that can teeter either more towards the end of "acquaintance" or more towards the end of "close friend."  These are the people I don't see very often, but when I do on the rare occasion, it's a great time.  For me, I feel like a friend isn't somebody you just know and like, it's somebody you want to keep in your life.  You like them at least that much.  :)

Love this.

Next are the "close friends", which is an even smaller group than "friends".  Some of them I see regularly, and some I see only here and there.  But I would never not include any of them for milestones in my life, and they are ALWAYS welcome to blow up my phone or invade my day anytime ever.  They have remained my friends through thick and thin, no matter my job, my relationship or my bad/stupid actions/decisions over the years.  Close friends WIN.

Ahh.....and now my best friends.  Some people have one....I have three.  There's my fantastic boyfriend (and father of my child), my best friend from high school and my best friend from college.  There isn't any need to describe a best friend.  We all know what it means to be a true best friend. 

**The dog picture above is a SWEET story.  You can read about those two here.

The funny thing about friendship is, why can't we have it the other way around?  Why have only one (or three) best friends, which is the BESTEST kind of friend, and yet loads of acquaintances who may or may not matter?  Why not have more really close buds than just basic friends in general?

Seems backwards when you think about it.  I think the world would be a happier place if things happened the other way around!

MacGyver Indiana Simington

Last night Lucas and I were watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom on TV and it brought up a memory......when I was little, I had decided that the name of my first son would be MacGyver Indiana.  Delano really dodged a bullet on that one.  He only has to correct the pronunciation of his name (first AND last) and explain to people why his middle name is "Durante" his entire life instead.

Now that I think about it, he may have lucked out better with MacGyver Indiana.......

Hurry!!!  Hand me a nail file and a pack of sugar!!!  I need to diffuse this bomb!!!

They call me Indy, I am a sexy beast and I WILL CUT YOU.

So I decided at the last minute to run the Turkey Trot 8k on Thanksgiving Day with Delano in the jogger.  My shoulder was feeling better (though still very sore) and I just felt like I would regret it if I didn't do it, no matter what kind of a run it would end up to be.  It was only my second time EVER running with the jogger, and the only other time had been for a one-mile stretch along the river walk.  I also hadn't ran over a 5k since having had the baby.  Those points combined with my sore shoulder really put some strikes against me for the 8k, so I really didn't expect much of a performance.

Let's just say I surprised the crap out of myself!!  I wasn't fast by any means, but I only speed-walked briefly up the last portion of two or three hills (plus a few little mini-walks to replace a spat-out pacifier) and managed to finish in under an hour!  My friend Angie was at my side the entire time with her jogger as motivation, which was awesome.  Delano slept almost the whole time.  Of course when I got back to the car I realized the root of his brief fussiness may have been the fact that his diaper was loaded up and his hands and toes were icicles despite the fleece onesie and blankets I had tucked him into!  I didn't think it was cold enough for his winter blanket-parka thingy, but apparently it was.  Now I know!

Delano has one of these things for winter runs that I should have put him in.

Hooray!  Only 8 more miles and I'm back to half marathon status!

So now I've got......(looking at my computer calendar).....12 1/2 weeks left to train for my comeback half marathon.  Plenty of time.  I just need to start racking up the mileage.  Luckily for me I can do that in my mom's neighborhood pretty much any day of the week while she watches Delano.  Her neighborhood has steady hills, traffic is low, I can run varying combinations of streets to rack up the miles and I don't have to push the jogger (unless I just want to).  My neighborhood has hills, but it looks more like this:

That makes my stomach turn just looking at it.  What if that little boy really went for it??  Or slipped??  My heart would stop.

Plus I'd have no choice to run with the jogger unless Lucas was home or somebody came over.  I'd end up strong, that's for sure!  Strong and crying.

The only downside to running right now is that it's wintertime.  Running in 50 degrees is magical.  Running in 30 degrees - not so much.  I'm usually good after I get going, as long as the extremities warm up.  Which reminds me that I need some new running gloves that actually keep my fingers warm.  The ones I currently have do not.

Maybe work gloves are the way to go, like this guy chose.  And can you imagine what kind of a ride that baby is getting in that stroller?

It's also weight loss time.  Well, it's BEEN weight loss time since Delano popped out, but now I really need to get serious about it or I'm going to be back where I was two years ago before I started running.  My first goal is to lose 5 lbs.  Running will help, but I also really need to adjust my diet to be healthier.  I'm out of the habit of eating healthy PLUS it's a crummy time of year to try to eat healthy.  But it needs to happen. 

I am that monster.

Duh.

Weeks ago I left off talking about Delano's likely tongue tie and the fact that I was going to have to make an appointment up at Vanderbilt for a final answer.  Well, I never did that.  Why?  Because it all of the sudden got better!!  I have no idea what happened.  I don't know if he stretched it out or if his mouth just grew out of it or if it corrected itself or what....but ever since "whatever" happened, I have been having a completely NORMAL breastfeeding experience.  Hooray to that!!

That's a happy baby.

Love love love love love love LOVE THIS BABY!!!

A Few Random Talk-Abouts

MONDAY:

Yesterday I felt fantastic.  Tired but good.  Today I feel like this:

I slept on my right shoulder wrong last night and have been suffering for it all day.  I woke up to feed the baby at 4am in agonizing pain, and it just seemed to get worse after that.  Had Delano not been a child, I would have dropped him when I picked him up, because picking him up brought on the tears.  When I finally looked in a mirror this morning, I noticed that my right shoulder was (and still is) about two inches lower than my left.  Caring for Delano today was a challenge for sure, and driving a car was a definite negative.  I tried a heating pad (and was then informed that heat was BAD) and then switched to an ice pack and BioFreeze.  I've also tried stretching.  At this point (7pm), I'm not any better.  My shoulder is JACKED UP.  But there's always tomorrow!  I had plans for tomorrow but I can always stay home and rest if I have to.  It just SUCKS.

Delano hit the 3-month mark last Friday and is growing like a weed.  He weighs a little over 12 pounds and has become quite vocal.  He'll be laughing out loud any day now!

My cutie!

I thought that I would register for the Turkey Trot 8k this year, but after today, I may have to reconsider.  I didn't think I'd be able to run the whole thing anyway, but I at least wanted to try.  But if my shoulder is still a mess tomorrow, I'll need to let it rest.  Bummer.

TUESDAY:

I've been eating like CRAP lately.  I blame it on a lot of things (but not myself, of course haha). Not only have I been eating a lot of what I call "tainted meat" (aka commercial/factory farm/UNhappy cow meat), I have been eating loads of carbs and sugar and fat and just plain CRAP.  I HAVE GOT TO GET MYSELF UNDER CONTROL.  THIS CRAP HAS GOT TO END.  I feel like a fat goat.  Like a goat, I just keep eating everything in sight.  However, since Thanksgiving is in two days, I'm guessing that I won't even get started on any healthier habits until after the weekend.  Blah.  At least I've got breastfeeding working in my favor to burn some calories as well!

That is one FAT GOAT.  (I actually believe that is a very pregnant goat.)

I feel SOOOO much better today (regarding the shoulder).  I'm still sore and have some limited movement, but I can actually walk and sit and carry the baby and drive and just move around in general like a normal human being.  Hooray!!!  Because yesterday SUCKED.

Therefore, I have decided to sign up for the Turkey Trot after all.  I'll have to take it easy and will probably end up walking a lot of it, but that's ok.  At least I'll burn a few calories before packing on about 35,000 more during Thanksgiving dinner.  It will also be another round of practice with the jogging stroller.  I really need to get in the habit of using it.

Lucas finished the kitchen tile yesterday - another hooray!  Now there are only a few things left to do before the kitchen can be considered DONE.  Then it will be time for him to move onto the next project.  The To-Do list is definitely a long one.

So it has come to that time in our lives where Lucas and I are actually discussing minivans.  It's kind of depressing, actually.  Yes, we only have the one baby now, but once we have the second we're going to need a vehicle bigger than my Rav4.  So why a minivan and not just a car/SUV with more space in the backseat for two car seats, you ask?  Well for those who don't know, Lucas and I plan to go through the process of becoming foster parents in the near future.  Along with having another baby of our own.  At that point, we'll need something bigger than a 5-passenger car or SUV.  And I definitely don't want a gas guzzler.  So that's why we're discussing minivans.  I just don't want one that looks like I'm driving a box.  I want a cool minivan.  Is that an oxymoron?

Ooooh a hybrid minivan!  Looks like a giant Prius.  Totally can't afford.

The kids would think this was cool until they were in middle school......

Can you even imagine this happening??

This is the root of my fears right here.  How I FEEL I'll look in a minivan.

A vision of my future.

Well I guess I should register for the Turkey Trot before they close the online registration.  And think about minivans while I find something to snack on......