10 Things I Think I Think, First 2012 Edition

10. It's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow. BOO. I was SO enjoying my (relatively-) warm, snowless winter! The first day of spring can't get here soon enough.

9. I'm proud of myself for sticking to my workout routine. Granted, I'm only a week & a half in, but that's a week & a half longer than I usually make it! My problem, though, is that the treadmill is absolute MURDER on my knees. Trying to get some advice from some co-workers on how to handle that, but I may have to make the jump over to my elliptical. Limping around work is not cool.

8. Mike started his new job on Monday, so the the boys started back at the sitter. Unfortunately, I got a note that same day saying that as of the first of March, she will no longer be babysitting. Ugh. I HATE looking for a sitter. Unfortunately, that's probably going to be the way we'll go since I just can't make the cost of a day care work within our budget, short of me getting another job. So frustrating.

7. I've done nothing but complain so far in this post. If you've clicked off, I really don't blame you!

6. Hmmmmm, positive things...I LOVE my Kindle Fire! Definitely a good purchase, especially since we got a new cable/internet provider with wireless that actually works. And I think Aiden enjoys it more than I do! He's an Angry Birds fanatic, but there's also a memory game I've downloaded that we play together. Good times.

5. Plans for Aiden's fourth birthday party are coming along. I'm trying to go a bit lower-key than I have in the past, but there's some cute stuff out there! Wants & needs, wants & needs...

4. Thumbs up for two good new episodes of NCIS in a row. I was getting worried there for awhile. The February episodes sound quite interesting, too :)

3. I've tried two recipes this past week that I found on Pinterest; one was this potato soup, which was delicious, but makes A LOT of soup, so invite folks over if you try it! The other was this broccoli pasta, which I also thought was yummy, but Mike was on the fence a bit. It probably would have been better with some grilled chicken.

2. Nolan's got sensitive skin, and as documented previously, a tendency to poop often. Well, those two characteristics have joined forces to give him some nasty diaper rash this week. It looks OMG PAINFUL, but he acts like it doesn't hurt at all! We're doing our best to treat it, but I might have to give in & call the doc tomorrow, even though he's scheduled for a well visit on Monday. Cross your fingers it starts to subside.

1. A big congrats to my SIL & BIL on the birth of their second child, the lovely Miss Caitlin. Hopefully we'll get to meet her one of these days, and introduce them Nolan!

My Week (21) in Droid Photos

Things were a bit more typical around these parts this week, with the holidays concluding and me heading back to work. Mike & the boys got an extra week off, though; Mike starts his new job on Monday, and the boys will be back to the sitter. Time to settle in for some normalcy.

Monday 1/2/12: Watching the Buckeyes with Aunt Abby. THANK GOD this season is over.

Tuesday 1/3/12: They're both eating AT THE SAME TIME. Momentous.

Wednesday 1/4/12: See? Sometimes I cook.

Friday 1/6/12: What, like YOU'VE never picked your nose with a giant red hand?!

Friday 1/6/12: Lego boxes are PERFECT for lounging.

Saturday 1/7/12: Where there's a mess, there's usually a Nolan.

Want to link up? Head over to Amy's blog!

Not a Photographer

You may not have noticed, but even though I'm not much of a photographer, I like to take pictures.

And today, I thought I'd snap a few of Nolan, who decided post-nap that he wanted nothing more than to read a good book.

NOTE: Please excuse the out-of-season, pizza-stained top and rumbled bed-head hair, though personally, those are some of my favorite things captured in these photos. :)

*Special thank you to Megan for lens to replace the one Nolan broke!

It Starts Today

I have never been what you might call a healthy person.

Sure, I have maintained a decent figure and low weight through ABSOLUTELY NO MAINTENANCE on my part--those of you who used to see me down a pack of Reece's Cups and a 20 oz Mountain Dew for my lunch can attest to that--but luckily for me, through the first 28 years or so of my life, I had one crazy metabolism.

I kept active enough in high school, being a pretty sweet marching band and all (GO LEX BOG!), but there was a failed attempt of joining the track team as a freshman. It was one of those hey-your-older-sisters-are-on-the-team-and-they-love-it-so-OBVIOUSLY-you-would-love-it-too-maybe-you-should-join-today-okay-cool-it's-done-then! moments. Kind of a bad idea to join the track team when you hate running with every fiber of your being. I got to the point where we were told to go run a mile, and I would say "Nope!" and walk it instead. I mean, it's not like they could give me a bad grade or anything.

So I made it though high school and college, maintaining my crazy weight of around 114 lbs, never having done anything to achieve that ridiculous number (my actions might actually have you thinking I was trying to GAIN weight, really). By the time I met Mike, the old metabolism started slowing down, though I think I was still around 125 by the time we got married.

And then I got pregnant with Aiden.

I shouldn't complain about that either, honestly; I only gained 28 lbs total with him, and lost all but 10 of that after the delivery. But I never did anything to actively get rid of those 10 lbs.

And then I got pregnant with Nolan.

Add another 10 lbs to the 10 I still had from Aiden, plus an additional few just for being lazy, and we've come to wear I am today: not overweight, but not overly excited about the numbers on the scale, either.

So, I've come to a decision: I'm going to lose 20 lbs. I've got a plan. And I'm starting it this morning.

I've got realistic expectations; I know it's not going to happen quickly or easily, and I know that having carried two kids, my body shape is forever changed. Obviously, that doesn't mean I can't tone it up. More than anything, though, I just want to prove to myself that I can follow through on this.

I'm not sure how much of my story I'll document on here; I've got a bit of a hang-up about personal fitness in general because I've always felt like such a WUSS, but it might keep me honest. I wish good luck to anyone out there attempting something similar.

Ready or not, here I go...

My Week (20) in Droid Photos

Busy December means fewer photos. Oh well. I do these updates when I can, but I'm not requiring myself to complete them on time by any means. :)

Saturday 12/24: Last chance to tell Santa what he wanted.

Saturday 12/24/11: We call this look "Unsure."

Tuesday 12/27/11: Mean muggin' at his dentist appointment.

Wednesday 12/28/11: Trying to figure out what to get into next at Mimi's house.

Friday 12/30/11: Big cheeks at Mimi's birthday lunch.

Sunday 1/1/12: Teaching Daddy to play Angry Birds on Mommy's Kindle Fire.

Want to link up? Head on over to Amy's blog!