Weight Watchers

Well, I officially joined Weight Watchers. Now I guess I have to actually watch my weight. Hopefully as it goes down!

It should be no surprise to anyone that I gained...about....a million pounds! of weight in the last two years. Who knows what the reason is (ahem, kids!), but whatever the reason (kids!), it doesn't matter cause I can't get rid of them! So, I might as well just suck it up and deal with the stress in some other way besides downing an entire sleeve of Oreos. And since auditioning for Biggest Loser doesn't seem in the cards, Weight Watchers is the next best thing.

So here I am...at my first meeting. Getting weighed by an overly sympathetic skinny woman with a clipboard. Ugh. I hate it. But I need it. Oh, why can't I be one of those people who can eat anything they want and never gain a pound! I hate them.

I mean, I've never been a size 2 or anything but I used to be pretty average. I've always been curvy, but healthy and muscular. Now I join the ranks of the thousands of point-counting, weekly weigh-in, crying at meetings, Weight Watcher people. It's ok. I can deal with it. I miss my body and my health too much to not give it a try. Wish me luck!

Before Kids

(on our honeymoon to Yosemite)

I don't even have an "after kids" picture to show you because I erase them all before anyone can see them. Hopefully, in a few months, I'll be able to show you some progress. I don't know about wearing no skimpy denim shorts anymore, but we'll see.

To Homeschool or Not To Homeschool? That is the Question.

The word "homeschooling" was always synonymous with "crazy" in my mind. I never thought it was something that would enter our lives. I will admit I was always intrigued by the idea of homeschooling. Children having more free time, no homework, no tests, and a tailored education where the parents can dictate what's important (more music and art!). But I didn't think I would ever do it. Mostly because I didn't think I could stand being around my children that long.

But remember this post I wrote recently about our plan to begin homeschooling Mateo when we move?

While I think it's the right thing to do in our case, I still have doubts. Will I have enough time while working part time? Will I be able to teach him? Will he be able to learn from me? Will I get tired of coming up with creative and crafty ideas all the time? Will they not be socialized enough? Will he not learn the skills he needs to succeed in life? Will the state take him away if he doesn't pass some sort of homeschooling test? And the list goes on.

Most importantly, is he going to miss out on anything? That's my biggest fear. All those small experiences that only school can give you. I realize some are bad; bullying, cliques, homework, poor teachers, etc. But look at the photo below. This came home from school with Mateo last week.

(click on photo to make larger)

Is this what he's going to miss out on by not being in school? It doesn't change my mind, but it does make me wonder.

Why is it Always About Daddy?

Maya has taken to calling me "daddy". I would be upset but she's so darn cute when she says it. I honestly think she thinks she's saying "mommy". She responds if someone asks "where's mommy?" But she still says "daddy" enthusiastically as she pats my face. She also calls my husband "daddy". Maybe she thinks everyone is called "daddy"? She also says "doggie". Hm...maybe I should be grateful she doesn't call me that.

Buying Happiness?

I need some opinions here. So Maya's big birthday party is coming up in a couple weeks. And since it's going to be a pretty big deal (at least in one three year olds eyes) and Maya will get lots of attention and presents, what is your opinion on giving Mateo a small present so he doesn't feel left out? Normally, I would say no way. This creates a spoiled child who feels entitled to a present at everyone's birthday. But now that it's my kid, and I'm going to have to keep telling him "no" to all the presents Maya gets, I think I might get him a little something to open while Maya is opening her presents. Maybe when he's older he can be expected to enjoy the process of his little sister opening her gifts, but he's only 3 years old. I think that's asking too much. So, what do you think? Present or no present at Maya's birthday party?

Speaking of consumerism....I'm going to be honest about something, a flaw I suppose, so don't slam me for this. I have a confession. I attempt to buy Mateo's happiness. Before you get all soap-boxy in my comments, let me explain. Number one: I grew up poor. My mom had to say "no" to a lot of things that I really wanted. I may be making up for that. I see Mateo begging for something at the store and the little me inside is begging too. Number two: I sometimes feel so bad that life is hard for Mateo that buying him that one toy to make him happy doesn't seem like such a big deal. Yes, I know the feeling is only temporary! And I know that it's superficial! And I know he should find his happiness in God, or himself, or his family, or whatever! But I feel so helpless sometimes because I don't know how to help him. I can't fix his hurts. I just want him to have some happy, joyful memories of his childhood. This is one thing I know how to do to bring a smile to his face. Is that so wrong? (If you answered "yes", don't tell me)

So, that is why we accumulate so much junk around here. But, on a positive note, after the cheap thrill of a new toy is over, I take it away and donate it. So, children out there somewhere are benefiting from my weakness.

Twilight

Ha! Got you to read this didn't I? Okay, I'm not really writing about Twilight. I think I covered my obsession thoroughly in this post. But have you read her other book? The Host. I finished it a couple weeks ago and loved it! It's kind of like X-files meets Sybil meets Love Actually. I didn't know if anything Stephanie Meyers wrote would live up to Twilight, but it was different enough that I could like it too. And actually, I think it would make a great movie, which is good cause they are making into one. So...if you love Stephanie Meyers, and want a quick fun read, check out The Host.

Calling All Parents of Biracial Kids!

I need hair help!!!!

Maya's hair is still really dry and frizzy in the back. I think I need a leave-in conditioner. Her hair is not as kinky and tight as AA hair so I think a product meant for that type of hair will be too heavy. So I need something in between. Any suggestions?

Daddy's Boy

I was looking through my camera card and realized I have so many cute pictures I haven't done anything with. So my next few posts will be mostly pics. To start us off I have some favorites of Mateo and Dave. Mateo is such a daddy's boy. When Dave is around, all Mateo wants is to be with him. In fact, when Dave isn't around, all he wants is daddy. It's very cute (when it's not annoying). And since I grew up without a dad, I have always LOVED child and father photos. Especially baby girls and dads. But since I can't post of Maya yet, you'll just have to wait.






And this photo is one that Mateo took of Dave. Good huh? Future photographer maybe?

Won't You Be My Valentine?

We're a little late for a Valentines Day post, I know. But I liked the pictures of Mateo so I'm posting anyway. We had a really great V-day actually. My friends were here from Indy to help us do some projects around the new house. Check out my house blog later tonight for more details (wait till later though cause I haven't actually written the new post yet). I got the kids little Valentine bags of goodies. Unfortunately, they were both more interested in my husband's pipe insulation. Oh well. I tried to be a fun mom. Daddy gets all the glory again and he doesn't even have to try.

The coolest part was our double date!!! Man, I haven't been on a double date in...well...I don't even remember the last time. My mom watched the kids and Dave and I went out to a nice restaurant with the aforementioned friends from Indy. The food was great, the company was....eh...so so. Okay, kidding. It was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of Mateo hamming it up as usual.


Notice the T-shirt. It's Pebbles and Bam-bam. Who misses The Flintstones? They just don't make kid shows like they used to. Yabba Dabba doo!!!


"Really mom, I need a haircut. This mop of hair just isn't doing it for me. Chicks may not be digging me much longer if you don't control this thing"

Hands full of Hershey Kisses

Happy Belated Commercialized Westernized Made-Up-Holiday-For-Your-Husband-To-Screw-Up-Again!!!

Feeleez!

So, I saw this product on someone else's blog and just had to get it. They are little cards you can play games with, like memory. Anything that might work to help Mateo express his emotions that doesn't involve throwing things, calling names, spitting, or hitting, I am buying it! I just got them in the mail yesterday. They are adorable. And fun.





BUT...because I'm me. I just can't resist making fun of a few of them. So, here are some of my favorite "feeleez".

There's-gum-in-my-hair-and-I-don't-know-what-to-do-so-

I'll-just-make-a-silly-face face

I-ate-too-many-gummy-worms-and-now-I'm-gonna-hurl face
(OR...my-mom-made-me-wear-this-awful-sweater-and-I'm-gonna-hurl face)


I'm-going-through-Dora-withdrawl-so-just-hand-over-the-remote-and
no-one-will-get-hurt face


Macaulay Culkin-esque-Home-Alone face


It-was-this-big!-I-swear! face


Loading-my-finger-gun-and-gonna-bust-a-cap-in-that-kid's-face face


I-gotta-pee-I-gotta-pee-I-gotta-pee-oops-too-late face

I-just-won-the-lottery-in-my-bathing-suit-and-I must-be-on-uppers-cause-I'm-smiling

even-though-I-have-no-fingers face

This is Mateo's favorite. Seriously, he's obsessed with it. He says it's a mad face. I'm thinking maybe more constipated but I guess these are objective. But maybe his obsession is indicative of the way he feels most of the time. I guess if I felt like I was constipated all the time I would be pretty mean and irritable too. Hmm...explains a lot doesn't it?

Anyway, see how fun these are? You can try it too. Just leave a comment with a caption for one of the photos and number them starting at the top. Then I'll post the best ones. Try it. It's fun!

My New Blog!

Here's our new blog about renovating the house we just bought. Check it out and follow our journey towards making this giant old house, our new home.

Renovating the Hayden House

Conversations with J-momma and Hubby

This is sort of a continuation of my Odd Conversations posts I've been doing. Except this isn't odd, just an example of my husband's funny-ness. Is that a word? I think it's a word.

We just closed on our new house (yay!). Which, by the way, we're remodeling and I'm going to start another (yes another) blog about it. For any of you DIY-ers out there, you might want to tune in. Anyway, when we went to the house after closing and started planning out what was what, we noticed that some "brilliant" person put the washer/dryer hook ups in the room with the smallest door way. So, the washer and dryer don't fit through. Actually, the door way is probably half the size of a regular door way, so they're not even close to fitting through. So, here was our conversation about how to solve this problem

Me: Will they fit through the window?

Dave: No.

Me: Could we take the washer and dryer apart then rebuild them in the room?

Dave: No.

Me: I know. How about we cut a hole in the wall, slide them through, then just stick the wall piece back in place and paint over it? You know, like they used to do in old cartoons with a saw on the floor?

Dave: What?

Me: Oh! We can have the manufacturer build the washer and dryer INTO the room!

Dave: Oh sure. And why don't we just have Harry Potter come over and cast a spell on them so they'll fit through the door!


Anyone have his number?

I See Your Naked Body!

This (meaning the blog post title) is what Mateo yelled all around the mall today. Which is funny to a three year old. A three year old who is very curious about bodies, nakedness, and potty language. Three year olds are also known for NOT stopping when you tell them to. If fact, this particular three year old tends to say inappropriate things longer and louder when you tell him not to. So, in combination, this can be quite embarrassing. And now everyone in the mall thinks my son would like to see their naked bodies.