Yeah, I Made That!

I figured I would do a brief picture post to give you a glimpse of the craftiness of the past week. I spent a lot of time this past weekend sewing so now I'm having to play catch-up on my reading for school, ergo my delinquency in blogging. So here's proof that I've been doing SOMETHING lately:

We'll start with the "E" we made for Ethan's nursery the weekend before last. Since an 18" wooden "E" would be both hard to come by and expensive, he fashioned one out of a scrap piece of plywood he doubled over to make thick enough. Then he painted it with leftover trim paint from the nursery. Then I got to try out my new Cricut and decoupage (read: glue on) cut-outs that portray Ethan's interests, from trucks to drums to goats! I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, and I now feel that the decorating of the nursery is finally complete!


The next project was a new pair of longies for Ethan since he outgrew the first pair I made (you know, the ones I was supposed to write a tutorial about a couple of months ago...). This one is also upcycled from a felted thrift store wool sweater, but I decided to go with an elastic waistband (salvaged from the sweater's neckline) this time instead of a drawstring. They're a bit big on him, but overall I'm satisfied with how they turned out, and he didn't have a leak, despite wearing it all morning!


And finally, the project that took up most of last weekend, we finally completed the Roman blinds for the master bedroom. Since those plastic blinds are obnoxious and kept breaking, almost two years ago, we decided to make our own Roman blinds since they are really expensive to buy. I made one, but my sewing machine kept breaking, and I never got any others finished. Well, with my nifty new sewing machine, I got to work on Saturday and finished all the sewing for four of them that day. On Sunday, we fitted them with all the necessary hardware, moved the one I made almost two years ago to the guest room, and hung the new ones up in the master! I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out, but mostly, I'm just glad to finally have them done!


I also did a few smaller sewing projects that had been on my to-do list for a while, mostly mending my husband's clothes, and I felt quite industrious by the end of it all! So there, I'm making progress on my resolution to be more crafty already! Now if I could just keep up with blogging...

Retro Baby

I'm lacking in time lately so this will have to do until I can post an actual update. We have an old record player in the playroom, and I haven't played it for Ethan in a while. Apparently I should have been because he is obsessed. We've spent all afternoon playing records, dancing, and using our musical instruments. I turned over a crate we use to store MegaBlocks so he could get a better look. I finally went and got the camera to try to capture some of the cuteness. Enjoy!

So far so good

We're now a week into the new semester and, thanks to the MLK holiday, my two non-directed-study classes have each met once (my third class will only meet every other week and doesn't start until next Wednesday). So far I'm pretty excited about them! My Monday class is a Black Church Studies course and, while it's probably not a course I would have chosen if we didn't have to take a BCS limited elective, I absolutely love the professor and am pretty excited about the discussions we'll have. My Wednesday class is a New Testament course on Judaic-Christian relations, ancient and modern, with the professor with whom I took my New Testament exegesis course. He's the sort you either love or hate because he's not a typical divinity professor and has a reputation for being a tough grader. Thankfully, I love him and got an A the last time I took him, so I'm quite excited to learn from him again, especially since the topic is near and dear to me. The third class is a directed study in Christian education, focusing on children's ministry. I've, of course, had this professor many times since he's the main Christian ed person, and he is actually the professor who let me bring Ethan with me to class my first semester back, so he's very understanding of my situation.

The main accommodation I require from professors is leniency in returning from break. Each of my regular classes is a 2.5 hour seminar, so we get a 10 minute break about halfway through. 10 minutes is not enough time to get to the Women's Center and pump so I'm usually late getting back to class. My professor last semester was great and even extended the break for everyone to 15 minutes. My BCS professor was perfectly understanding and said we need to do whatever it takes to keep the baby happy. I was nervous about approaching today's professor, though, since he is more academic, aloof, and, well, male. He dismissed us early today so it didn't come up naturally, and I had to approach him after class. I explained that I would probably be late coming back from breaks because I need to use the lactation room during that time. He responded, "Oh, do you have a little one at home?" Without thinking first, I responded, "Nope. Just do it for fun." Thankfully he knows me well enough to know my sense of humor, and he laughed after it registered or else I could have gotten myself in some trouble for being such a smartass.

So things are going well! I definitely have a lot of work to do already, which means those long-promised blog posts aren't going to be coming any quicker. But in the grand scheme of things, this is such a short period of my life that I need to enjoy it while I can!

Seven Year Itch?

Seven years ago tonight, I arrived at the movie theater early. I bought my ticket and stood off to the side, waiting. Five minutes before the movie was supposed to start, I decided I must have been stood up. About two minutes before the movie was supposed to start, a white Bonneville drove into the lot. I grinned as he walked towards me, and we got into the ticket line. Before I could say anything, he purchased two tickets. When I told him I already got mine, he explained it was just habit to purchase two so he didn't even think of it. When I noticed him eying my skirt and nice top, I explained that I had just come from a party so that's why I was so dressed up. He later admitted he had debated all day whether or not to buy my ticket before finally deciding he should. I later admitted I had not come from a party but was just embarrassed to have dressed up. And on that foundation of deception, we began our first date, a 40th-anniversary showing of Dr. Strangelove.

Two weeks later, after going out the interceding Saturdays, I asked him what exactly "we" were, trying to figure out whether or not we were dating. He responded, "We're just two friends who go to the movies. We're friends and nothing more." A week after that, we decided we were in an exclusive relationship. Two years later, we were engaged. And a year and five months after that, we were married.

The next year brought home ownership and the following one our firstborn. And while we've had our ups and downs like any couple, no one has ever made me happier than he has these past seven years. So seven-year-itch? Granted, we've only been married for 3.5, but if the next 3.5 years are anything like our first, I don't foresee any problem. He is a wonderful father and a loving husband. He drives me nuts and knows just how to annoy the heck out of me (and practices often). He makes me laugh, he makes me scream in frustration, and most of all, he's made me the person I am today. Seven years later, he makes me want to be the best wife and mother possible... even if just to prove him wrong.

Sixteen Months

Dear Ethan,

It's been another busy and wonderful month! We celebrated your second Christmas, we traveled down to Atlanta to visit family, and I started back for another semester in grad school. But it's also been full of those smaller moments of which memories truly consist. Each time you say a new word for the first time, each time you learn something new, each time you shock us with your independence and intelligence, those are the moments I want to remember forever.

You're so much more verbal and interactive now. You sign for what you want (and if we take too long to respond, you go and get/do it anyway), you're learning more and more words (like "open" and "diaper"), and you're using the words you love with increasing gusto (like "bye-bye" and "doggy"). You still get frustrated when we can't figure out exactly what you want, and I know you wish you could express yourself more, but it will all come with time. Already, though, you shock us with how much you're able to do.

It's also fun to see how your interests have changed. This past month has been all about books, and you're constantly running to your bookshelf, grabbing a few books, and climbing up onto the playroom sofa to "read." It's also been a month of dancing as you've finally learned the joys of moving to music. You press your toys that play songs repeatedly and bounce along to the beat. I hope it never stops being adorable, regardless of how annoying the songs can get!

We've made some small strides in your eating. Ever since our Atlanta trip, I've been able to get you to eat all three meals in your booster seat instead of roaming around. This makes meals take less time, and sometimes you even seem to eat more! You're also getting better about eating actual food instead of just cereal and crackers, though you still have a long ways to go. I think you may just be a picky eater, period, though the toddler stage can bring that out in anyone!

You still are refusing to drop that second nap, though this month saw several one-nap days. Those days were enough to convince me you probably still need a second nap, so I'm going to continue to follow your lead instead of trying to force you to give it up. However, since you're hanging on to two naps, the length of them has dropped to about an hour apiece, which can be frustrating when I've been used to having two hours to get things done. So it certainly wouldn't upset me if you dropped down to one nap soon!

This next month will see the start of a new routine as Mommy balances three classes with motherhood and caring for the house. There will still be plenty of time for playing and cuddles, though, because you will always be #1. I can't wait to see how much you're going to learn this month, and I look forward to learning right along with you!

Love,
Mommy

And so another break comes to a close...

Here I sit on the eve of the beginning of another semester. I've been back in grad school for a full year now. In some ways it's gotten easier. I've figured out some sort of a balance. I no longer have to drive two hours a day with a screaming infant in the backseat. I've gotten used to leaving him in someone else's care. But in other ways, it's just as hard, if not harder. I can no longer get much work done during his naps. Plus, in past terms, I've taken only two classes at a time, and the first term back I only had to go to one of them (the other being a directed study). This term, I'm taking three classes, all of which I will be attending. It could be an interesting semester...

This past break has seemed both quite long and very short. On the one hand, it seems like forever ago that I was last in class. On the other hand, I feel like I got none of the things done I'd planned on. I did no reading, for pleasure or for parenting. I got very few of my projects done. I basically just did the usual routines of cleaning, cooking, and everything necessary to keep a toddler alive and happy. I'm slightly annoyed with myself for not getting more done, but I certainly cherish all the time I got to spend just playing with Ethan.

So what all have we done this break? Some of those stories will have to wait for future posts, but I'll leave you with the following moment from earlier this afternoon. Ethan was playing with his new car, so I took the opportunity to run to the bathroom without him bugging me. I heard a door open, and when I turned the corner, he was pulling out his cardboard blocks from my coat closet and building a tower. He saw me, grinned, faked knocking it over, and then ran to get his car to crash into it. Then he set about building again. So here's a glimpse into a typical moment with my little boy:

The Plan

Well, I forgot to include this one on my "Upcoming Posts" list, so I might as well get it out of the way now. As I wrote in my "Resolutions" post, I've come up with a plan to make my less-than-concrete "Lose weight" goal more well defined. First some backstory:

It's not an exaggeration to say I've been on a diet for as long as I can remember. In my baby book, my mom was very meticulous about recording my height and weight at each well-child check. She was also meticulous about recording how much weight the doctor said I needed to lose. At 3 weeks, the entry reads "2 lbs. overweight!" At 2 months, I was a little better but still "1 lb. overweight." At 3 years, the remarks for my dr.'s appointment were "Overall good, but could lose a little weight." Yes, my friends, I've been told my weight was a problem from the start. Now, putting aside the complete idiocy of saying a 3-week-old is 2 lbs. overweight, I can understand my mom's concern in wanting to give me as healthy a life as possible.

Unfortunately, being on a diet for as long as you can remember results in a very unhealthy relationship with food and weight. You rebel against what your parents stress is important. And since my mom stressed eating right (for me, not as much for my three older brothers), I rebelled by sneaking candy and cookies whenever her back was turned. To this day, if I eat a piece of candy, I feel ashamed and try to hide the wrapper in the trash so no one knows.

So were the constant diets successful? To varying degrees. In middle school, I was 142 lbs. and my mom took me to a nutritionist to try to get me down to 125, my "goal weight according to my height." Boy, what I wouldn't give to see 142 on the scale today, not to mention only having 17 lbs. to lose to my goal weight! I don't remember how much I lost, but I know I didn't reach 125. Fast forward to my junior year of high school. I'd reached a weight that even I agreed was unacceptable. So I started another weight loss plan with a good deal of success! Over the next year and a half, I lost about 50 lbs, and I felt and looked great. I still hadn't reached my goal, but I was working hard.
Then between beginning to date my now-husband (who took me out for ice cream and made me feel beautiful regardless of the number on the scale, for which I am eternally grateful) and starting college, eating right and working out fell by the wayside
again. In March 2008, I was preparing to graduate from college, looking forward to my wedding that June, and the heaviest I had ever been. And once again I knew it was time for a change. So I joined Weight Watchers. And it worked! From March to October, I lost 50 lbs. I still was nowhere near my goal, but it fit my lifestyle and the weight kept coming off. Then I stopped my birth control pills. And within two months, I somehow gained 20 lbs, despite continuing to eat right and exercise. Enter PCOS. Thankfully, my weight continued to hover around that new number, and there it remained until I finally became pregnant, one year later.

Sorry for such a long back story, but perhaps you can now see
what a tumultuous relationship I've had with dieting and weight. So here I am trying it all again. I'm not following any specific diet plan. I'm just eating frequently and healthily. I'm not tracking calories, and I don't deprive myself all the time. Remember, to keep my supply up, I can only lose a pound a week. For exercise, I've decided to start out with the Couch-to-5K program. It's an 8 week training course that starts out slow and builds up to, well, running a 5K. My first day was today, and, after a 5 minute warm-up, it alternated between 60 seconds jogging and 90 seconds walking for 20 minutes, followed by a 5 minute cool-down. I'm not going to lie. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. And I'm suddenly wishing my neighborhood had a lot fewer hills. But I did it, and I'm going to keep doing it.

So what are my goals? Because I still deal with guilt and shame, I'm not going to go into exact numbers. But here's the summary:

Goal #1: Pre-pregnancy weight (Achieved 11/25)
Goal #2: Lose 9.3 lbs. from current weight (Goal date 3/1)
Goal #3: Wedding weight - 7 lbs. from Goal #2 (Goal date 5/1)
Goal #4: Next BMI level - 14 lbs. from Goal #3 (Goal date 9/13 - Ethan's birthday)
Goal #5: Lowest high school weight - 14 lbs. from Goal #4 (Goal date 12/31)

My goal dates are pretty conservative, based on about a pound a week loss. If I don't meet the goal date, it's no big deal, but it gives me a timeline.

And now that I've posted this all here, I have to be accountable, which is another part of my plan for actually achieving my resolution. This isn't going to become a weight loss blog, but I might check in from time to time. After all, one of the main reasons I'm doing this is to model healthy habits for my son. It's all part of being the best mom that I can be.

"Upcoming Posts"

Note that "Blog more regularly" didn't make my resolutions list. A common phrase on here is "in an upcoming post." And sometimes those posts don't get written. We've been quite busy here with the holidays and just returned yesterday after a week and a half visiting family. Plus, my classes start back on Wednesday (ugh!), so I have a lot to get done beforehand. Last night was spent unpacking, etc., and tonight will be spent going through pictures, so without enough time for a real post, I leave you with a list of (sometimes long overdue) upcoming posts so you can hold me accountable.

- Pictorial tutorial for DIY longies (I may wait until I make another pair now that I can use my new sewing machine!)
- Summary of grandparent visits in early December (I'm still trying to get pictures from my in-laws' visit, but for some reason my computer refuses to copy them over)
- Breastfeeding a toddler: the logistics
- Summary of Christmas family visit
- Launching a new babywearing series

Anything else I've promised and forgotten about? Anything else you want to learn more about? Let me know!