Monday blahs...

Not much to report -- bummed that the weekend is over -- but excited to be going on vacation soon!! I just looked at my page and realized I need to take some pictures. Don't fret though -- we will be in Michigan soon and I am sure there will be plenty of pictures!

IUD news -- so far so good. The pain was pretty bad when he put it in -- I have an extremely tilted uterus ,so he said I was one of the hardest he has had to insert (sorry - TMI) Can't feel a thing now though :)

Noah news -- we have a Dr appt in an hour... he has been battling a cough the past couple days and I just feel sorry for the little guy. The cough definitely has a croup sound to it -- but I don't think he has the constricted breathing that is supposed to go along with it... we'll see what they say. I hope he is getting better soon -- I am not looking forward to a long flight with a sick baby :(

Update: Noah weighed 15 lbs 9 oz today. He got a one-time dose of steroids -- the Dr said that the cough was definitely "croupy" -- even though it wasn't too extreme, she wanted to treat it. Hope he gets better soon! We have a follow-up appt tomorrow morning to make sure he is doing better -- we want him getting healthy for our travels :)

Another update: Our new god-daughter Lucy was baptized this past Sunday. She is such a cutie! She reminds me a little of Evelyn -- she is petite, a little spitter-upper, looks like she is going to be a blondie... Melissa has a few pics on her blog if you are interested....

random thoughts

3 more weeks until I go back to work. I think I will feel much more ready this time... Noah is a lot bigger baby at this point than Evelyn was, and I am also used to the daycare routine and know what it's like when I drop them off.

I am getting the copper IUD on Thursday. I decided no hormones was the best route for me. I am a little afraid of the cramping and insertion pain... I hope it works for me without too many side-effects... Wish me luck!!

I'm really looking forward to our trip to Michigan!! We are taking the red-eye (with two kids in tow -- wish us well!!) on Tuesday night. I'm anxious to see my family and friends. My dad and brother haven't even met Noah yet... I haven't seen them since Christmas! It is tough living so far away :(.

Weight loss is going well again. The gym definitely helped. However, my gym time has cut into some of my chore time. I used to get a lot of things done in the evenings (laundry, cleaning, paying bills, etc) It is so hard to balance everything!! There isn't enough time in the day. Sometimes I feel like I don't stop all day long until my head hits the pillow. I better get used to it -- going back to work is just going to add more to the mix!!

Mommy Play-Group

Yay!! I am officially part of a mom's play-group! Travis and I met a nice family at the park a while ago, and the mom invited me to be part of her play-group that she was starting. The group meets every Thursday from 10-12:00. Today was my second time with the group -- they are great! The kids are all pretty close in age, give or take a few months.

The best part is that I have some new mom-friends :) I swear, meeting moms feels like dating again sometimes... you don't want to meet any of the crazies... the ultra-competitive mom, or the overly-protective mom, or the depressed mom, or the drunk mom, he he... you just want some normal mom time to chat about your experiences. I think I found a few good moms :)

I am going to miss my thursday play-group when I go back to work. I'm hoping to stay in touch with some of these girls and have our own play-dates.

Side-note: Travis should be returning home today around dinnertime. I'm hoping the kids go to bed easily tonight so that I can sneak off to the gym. I need some sweat-time!

Another side-note: Noah is smiling and cooing a lot now. It is adorable! I wasn't sure it was possible, but those chubby cheeks get even chubbier when he smiles -- it is the cutest thing!

100 calories... yeah right!

For some reason I lost my willpower today. I need to find it -- and fast!! It all started earlier when I was craving something sweet. I was at Target with the kids and decided to try to be somewhat healthy and I picked up one of those 100 calorie pack sweets. Well, there is a reason why they are only 100 calories... they aren't very sweet, and they are teeny-tiny portions. So, after eating 3 servings over the course of the next couple hours (300 calories) and still not satisfying my sweet tooth I gave up. I should have just splurged and ate the real thing! My snackiness went on all day... and the worst part is, Travis is out of town and I won't be able to get to the gym until Friday. I have great gym motivation -- why can't I be as strict with my diet?! I am hoping to have more self-control tomorrow.

Father's Day Weekend

Friday evening: Travis learned that he has to travel again this week for work. After the kids went to bed he worked on booking his flight, hotel, etc. I went to the gym. I got there around 9PM. I spent my entire cardio workout people-watching and trying to figure out why everyone else was spending their Friday night at the gym. I mean, I am trying to get my shape back and that time of the day is the only time that works for me. What was everyone else's excuse? Why didn't they have anything better to do? It was fun to make up stories in my head about everyone :)

Saturday: Travis went golfing in the morning. That was part of his Father's Day gift. He went with his friend Jim (another new dad). Saturday evening we went to Mass with our friend Chad. Both kids were pretty good during church. Evelyn can be a little wiggle-worm -- but I think she is slowly understanding that church is quiet-time, and she can't crawl around or play. We went to dinner afterwards. Noah had a little bit of a break-down during dinner and Travis and I took turns leaving the restaurant to walk around with him outside. Ugh! Noah isn't a fussy kid, but when he does it is typically right around dinner time. Oh well...

Sunday: Went to Trav's favorite spot for breakfast. Luckily, we went early enough to beat the rush. We waited maybe 5 minutes to be seated -- we even were able to sit outside!! Here is a picture of Travis and Evelyn at breakfast:

Noah at breakfast:Picture taken back at home after breakfast. Noah is definitely going to be bigger than Evelyn at some point...My favorite part of the weekend... Evelyn was able to try out her kiddie pool. She loved it!! She loves baths, too -- so we knew she would enjoy the pool. Notice the hat... it is rare that Evelyn will be outside without a hat on. She has such fair skin, and not much hair still... so I am paranoid about her head getting burned. Oh well -- she usually doesn't mind wearing them.

little chubster

Noah had his 2 month check-up yesterday... he weighed 14lbs 4oz!! I looked back at Evelyn's baby book, and at 6 months she only weighed 13lbs 10oz. Totally different kids. Our pediatrician said his weight isn't a concern since he is a breastfed baby, and since neither Travis or I are overweight. Noah is obviously a healthy eater... he seems to be a good sleeper so far, too. He goes to bed by 8:00 and gets up between 1-3:00AM for a feeding. He goes right back to sleep when his belly is full and sleeps until between 5:30-7:00. I really can't complain :)

Here is my cute little chubster:

looking for new options...

So, I figured out that the mini-pill just doesn't work for me. It is a special kind of birth control that breastfeeding mothers can use -- and it is not supposed to hurt your milk supply. "Not supposed to" is the important part of that statement. I am apparently part of the select few people out there that is does have an effect on. After taking it for only about 5 days I was pretty much out of milk -- I had to stop. Now I am working on getting my supply back again... ugh!

The same thing happened after Evelyn was born... for some reason I thought I would give it another try. My ob/gyn gave me a different brand than last time and I had high hopes that it would work. No such luck.

So, now I need to think about other options... if Travis and I weren't so darn fertile I wouldn't worry about it. My doctor talked to me about an IUD -- but those scare me a little bit. I am going to call my doctor's office and talk to his nurse to see what my other options are. When is the male contraceptive coming out? I wish there was a pill they could take...

I'm back...

...to the gym. Also back are my favorite work-out tunes: Eye of the Tiger, Final Countdown, Hungry like a Wolf, Pressure, ... I love the old stuff... I love the stuff that reminds me of being at a Pistons game when the score is tied towards the end of the game... I love the stuff that we used to play in high school before track meets or volleyball games.

Back to the gym though... Man, I didn't realize just how much I missed the gym. Even though I am exhausted every day, it feels so good to go there!! Weird, I know... but I love the gym for many, many reasons.
1. I love sweat (weird again, I know). I love to sweat and I love watching people sweat, too. I find sweat very attractive. It is seriously like porn for me :) ha ha
2. I love good, hard cardio. I love to have my heart feel like it is going to explode through my chest, I love having my legs feel like jello, and I love feeling like I might puke after a work-out.
3. I love the way I sleep at night after a good work-out.
4. I love the sore muscles I have the next day.
5. I love playing music that gets me pumped up and makes me feel unstoppable!! It gives me an excuse to listen to Rocky music on a regular basis :)
6. I love knowing that it is going to help me lose those last stubborn pounds.
7. I love how exercise improves my mood. I am ultra-crabby when I am not working out regularly. It is seriously like taking an anti-depressant for me!

This list could go on forever... Moral of the story is that I am happily going back to the gym. I don't go until both kids are in bed (I usually get to the gym between 8 and 8:30PM), that way I avoid the mommy-guilt I would have if I went to they gym while they were awake. Mommy guilt -- that is an entirely different post topic... I'll stop for now :)