It seems rather anti-climactic to be on a diet in January – isn’t everyone on a diet right now? It would seem more noteworthy to write about not being on a diet in January. So avant-garde.
I was on a diet this time last year too, except a year ago I really didn’t know how to make it work. I’d tried a few diets before, most notably the South Beach Diet, which didn’t work for me. I know South Beach worked wonders for some of my friends, but I learned that exclusion diets are not my bag. Tell me I can’t have a carb-loaded biscuit, and suddenly all I’ve ever wanted in my life is a biscuit. I thought of biscuits and wanted to cry. I was depressed and grumpy – just ask Lee. He learned to fear the word “diet,” because it was synonymous with angry wife.
But last year I discovered an iphone app called Lose It. It’s not a diet fad – it’s good old fashioned calorie counting. Put in your weight, how much you want to lose and in what time period, and it calculates your daily caloric allowance. Use the app to log your calories for the day (comes pre-loaded with lots of nutritional data so you don’t have to figure out the calories for yourself, just look it up). If you exercise, you log that as well and your calorie allowance for the day increases.
Using the app really taught me a lot about the food I was eating and how to make better choices. I was motivated to exercise more because I could see the direct relationship between using the elliptical at the gym and being able to eat that biscuit for breakfast guilt-free. No food is off limits – you just have to make it work into your daily allowance. And if you screw up a day (hello, Mexican food every Tuesday), the app also tracks calories for the whole week, so you can make it up the next day.
I lost more weight with that app than any other diet I’d ever tried, and I think my attitude was much better (right, Lee?).
I admit I fell off the bandwagon thanks to a few vacations and the holidays, but at least now that it’s January I know what to do to get back on track.
Two other unexpected diet helpers I’ve discovered…
Pandora Radio – I find that if I program some loud, obnoxious club music I feel more motivated on the elliptical at the gym. And when my energy starts to wane, I crank it up a little louder and I swear it helps.
Celebrity Gossip Magazines – I’m almost embarrassed about this one. No, I am embarrassed. I’m not a celebrity follower and cannot usually tell you which actor was in what film. I especially can’t tell you who cheated on whom and who is the baby’s daddy. But I need a magazine to flip through on the elliptical – something mindless. The added benefit of a celebrity magazine – all those scantily clad bodies. Not that I think I’m ever going to be in Hollywood shape, but I also realize most of those women don’t get those bodies without work. If I want a better body, I have to work for it.
Last year, Camille (my fellow snow lover) and I were spoiled. We got to play in the snow when we visited Boston and Tennessee – a real treat both times.
This year we missed the snowfalls at both locales and I thought our chance to play in the snow had passed. So I was pleasantly surprised when driving from Macon to Savannah on the day after Christmas, snow began to fall. There wasn’t enough snow to call it a major event by normal standards, but in this part of the state any flake is a major event. When we stopped to eat at a Burger King in Dublin, I spotted this tiny patch of snow on the playground.
Ok- all my northern friends can stop laughing now. I know it’s pitiful, but when you never see snow around here, even pitiful patches have potential.
So Camille and I decided to make a teeny, tiny baby frosty. So fun!
Hello my sweet girl and Happy Fifty-Three Months! As you sleep in your bed after an all-day car ride back from Tennessee, I’ve been going through photos from the last month trying to narrow down a few for this letter. Happily, it’s a difficult task because of the overabundance of good pictures.
Christmas is such a fun season in large part because we get to see our extended family, and you’ve had a big month of cousins. Last week, Erin, Dave and Jones came to Savannah. Jones has grown up a lot since the last time he came to our house, and he is so much more independent now. Rather than sticking close to his mama’s side, the two of you disappeared together into your play area, content to enjoy some cousin time.
Then Friday, we traveled up to Tennessee where Jeff, Michelle, Stella and Jane had driven in from Tulsa to see Nana and Granddaddy. We hadn’t seen Jeff’s family since the summer, but it didn’t take long for you all to get reacquainted.
You adored Jane, delighting in little things like slipping her some of your scrambled eggs at breakfast, and feeling so proud when you would make her smile.
You enjoyed playing with Stella too, especially running around in the backyard posing for silly pictures. You fed off of each other until we could barely get a picture that wasn’t silly. A good problem to have.
We went to Granddaddy’s church on Sunday where we had the honor of lighting the advent wreath and reading accompanying text. Nana thought we should have you say a line, but I wasn’t so sure. Verbal though you are at home, you sometimes clam up in front of strangers.
But when I asked you if you wanted a speaking part, you said you did. So we asked you to say, “Mama, why do we light these candles?” At first you protested, “But I know why!” I guess you haven’t learned about rhetorical questions yet, but you finally agreed to say the line anyway.
Sunday morning, when it was our moment in the program, we walked to the front of the church and I picked you up so you’d be closer to the microphone. You shyly buried your head in my neck, but when I asked if you still wanted to say your line, you nodded yes. Then, you surprised me with a burst of courage and grabbed the microphone. Your sweet little voice boomed out across the congregation as you said your line perfectly. I was so amused by your sudden stage presence that I wanted to laugh, and it took me a moment to get my composure. My little ham.
In addition to family visits, we’ve been enjoying other traditions of the season as well. You sat in Santa’s lap at a neighborhood Christmas party, then rode a trolley around Ardsley Park singing carols and looking at Christmas lights. One of your school buddies, Ellanor, was on the trolley too and I got another round of silly pictures. You girls were hilarious!
Of course we continued our tradition of trimming the Christmas tree, but some nontraditional things happened along the way. I have always been a big advocate of real Christmas trees. But one day, if your father has his way, we may have an artificial tree. And if I ever agree to it, you can look back on the Christmas of 2010 as the reason why.
Each year, we get our tree from a lot benefiting a local charity. This year, when we arrived the lot had been picked over and the remaining trees were rather scrawny. But it’s hard to walk off a charity lot without a tree, especially when the volunteers walk around with you. You were blissfully unconcerned about the condition of the trees, and instead flew around with your Batgirl cape on, fighting tree lot crime.
We chose a tree, brought it home and decorated it. You loved helping us decorate this year, ecstatic about each ornament as it was reborn from the storage box. Most of our ornaments are either gifts from people we love or souvenirs from our travels and they’re all special to us.
By the end of the day, the tree was still scrawny but somewhat respectable and I was at peace with it. Mostly. Instead of a bad side, our tree has a bad half, so every time I walked by I found myself turning it to hide the bald spots. Apparently, it suffered one turn too many because 24 hours afte
r putting up the tree, it came down with a sickening crash. Ornaments shattered all over the floor and water poured out of the tree stand all over the presents I’d just put under the branches. It was simply awful.
As I frantically tried to unwrap and salvage gifts, and your Daddy mopped up water, we tried to figure out our next move. How could we keep the tree from falling again? Frustrated, at one point I asked your Daddy, “Are we just not going to have a tree this year?”
To which you replied, quoting a cat from a favorite movie, “I’m going to put my paws together and PRAY you’re not serious!”
You can always be counted on for comic relief.
So we had to put the tree back up, but felt the need to memorialize our tree tragedy. Several of the broken ornaments didn’t fall off the tree, so we’re leaving them there – broken ball, decapitated Tinkerbell, and our beloved Beluga whale from Chicago who is now minus a flipper and half a tail fin.
You said you wanted to keep the beluga whale. “We’ll just pretend he can’t swim!” Instead I envision the pitiful beluga whale swimming in an endless circle in his tank with that painted-on grin.
Oh sweet girl, you have a way of bringing lightness and humor to so many things. You make our Christmas traditions so much sweeter and significant, and even manage to brighten the frustrating moments too. You cannot possibly know how much joy you bring us. We love you so much.
This month, Camille’s pre-k classroom is “traveling around the world,” and this week they took an imaginary trip to Japan. Lee and I were excited for a chance to share our love of that country with her classmates, so we volunteered to help out with “Japan Day” today.
We brought in some souvenirs and photos from our trip, as well as my yukata and Camille’s kimono so we could model for the class.
But I think the most adventurous aspect of the day was snack time. It was our day to bring snack for the class and her teacher encouraged us to go with the Japanese theme. So we ordered up some carrot sushi from Publix and paired it with edamame and nori rice crackers. I was impressed by how many kids requested seconds on the sushi. I think the biggest hit though was the edamame, especially after I compared it to American boiled peanuts. What’s not to love about that?
Happy 52 months my big girl! What fun we’ve had this last month! I’ve decided being four during Halloween is pretty grand, and I’m super excited about celebrating Christmas with you this year. But, as you love to scold when you see a “premature” Christmas display, “It is NOT Christmas time yet!” So I’m trying to keep my Christmas excitement in check until Thanksgiving at least. It’s not easy.
This year for Halloween, your costume was inspired by the old school Super Friends episodes you love to watch with your Daddy. You decided the two of you should dress up as the Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna. Here’s a picture for reference:
There are no child-sized Jayna costumes for sale, but I was actually happy for an excuse to get just a little bit crafty. You loved your Jayna costume, Lee wore a Zan shirt, and together you spent the whole evening activating your Wonder Twin powers with spontaneous fist bumps.
Without any coaching on our part, when posing for pictures you often put your clenched fists on your hips in a traditional superhero pose and made your best menacing face. All I know is this – the evil forces better WATCH OUT.
We were delighted to continue our trick-or-treating tradition with Will (Darth Vader) and Sam (Michael Jackson), two of your dearest friends.
After the usual round of photographs on our front steps, the three of you raced into the neighborhood to take in the bounty. When you got to the first door, you said, “Trick or Treat!” just as we’d rehearsed. But after you got the candy you did something unexpected. Boo had pre-loaded your jack-o-lantern with a few bits of candy, and you pulled a piece out and handed it to the lady at the door.
She looked confused, so you explained, “You can have it for later!” The lady reluctantly took the candy and shot me a quizzical look, which I returned. Apparently, the lesson about sharing has not been lost on you, because you thought Halloween should be a candy exchange at each door. I almost felt bad trying to explain that you weren’t supposed to give candy back, but that we’d give out candy at our house later. Sweet, sweet girl.
In October, we also enjoyed a Halloween party at a friend’s house and a visit to a pumpkin patch with your Nana. I recapped a few of our Fall/Halloween excursions in this video.
Another highlight of our fall was a trip to Boston to see Aunt Erin, Uncle Dave and Jones. Many of the trees were still ablaze with color, and the northeastern landscape was just beautiful.
When we visited last year in December we had the good fortune to see snow, and apparently that image stuck with you. Our first morning there, we stepped out their front door and you stopped, startled.
“But Mom,” you asked, incredulous. “Where is the SNOW?”
Despite the lack of white stuff, we had a great trip. As always, it was fun to watch you play with your cousin, and the two of you loved pulling Boo in on your games.
One of our favorite outings was a trip to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. You walked from room to room, exuberantly shouting out the names of animals you recognized, which were many. You knew all the typical ones, but even rattled off a few that surprised me, like, “A Platypus!”
But the real excitement came when we entered the paleontology room where you were like a mini fossil expert in her element. You enjoyed naming the various dinosaurs based on bone structure. You correctly identified this giant skeleton of a kronosaurus, then added, “but some people call it a pliosaur.”
I said something noncommittal, assuming you’d gotten confused about two similar dinosaurs. But when I stepped up to read the plaque, I was astonished to see, “The kronosaurus was among the largest pliosaurs…”
SMARTY PANTS.
Right now, about the only thing you love as much as dinosaurs is art. You can often be found sitting at your craft table, cutting bits of paper, drawing, stamping, coloring and pasting them to a backdrop. You’re a big fan of collage, so when we got a note from school about an art competition involving collage we knew you’d enjoy creating a work for submission.
The theme of the competition was “Together We Can,” and the work had to incorporate that theme as well as an artist’s statement describing the theme’s relevance. You submitted this treasure:
Your submission was accompanied by the following artist’s statement, which I transcribed for you. “Together we can take care of animals. We can feed them and let them rest. That bird is going to eat that snake! It’s migrating!”
That’s my sweet, funny, smart girl, and I love her so!
You’ve probably had chocolatey, marshmallowy s’mores before, but have you ever laid eyes on s’mores as cute as these?
These precious s’mores owls were the prize for the class at Camille’s school that spent the most at our recent school book fair. The school principal came up with the theme, “Read Some and then Read S’more.” My book fair co-chair Jessica took the idea a step further with this super cute owl design, which includes the traditional graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow, and combines them with a yellow chocolate candy melt and candy corn. (Credit for the s’mores recipe to Amy at Living Locurto!)
Camille’s class won the grand prize, but I was so bummed she was out sick the day of the s’mores party. Rest assured an owl or two were set aside for her to enjoy at home.
The night before the party, Jessica, Alva, Lee and I held a s’mores assembly event at our house, putting together the owls as well as s’mores goody bags for the 2nd and 3rd place classrooms. I thought it all turned out so well!
We also made a s’mores costume for the principal to wear during the school party.
The book fair was a lot of work but a lot of fun, especially since I got to spend so much extra time with my good buddy Jessica. Now our duties are finally done, and all that’s left is our celebratory dinner at Bar Food later this month. Bring it!
Lee is not the kind of dad who believes the day-to-day tasks of parenting should be left to mom (glad we’re in agreement there!). Instead, he’s involved from our breakfast routine to our bathtime rituals and in between. And not only is he involved, he’s ambitious. Lee is always finding great books/movies/games/crafts and more to add fun and substance to our day.
So I was excited when he started the new site http://DadAesthetic.com, reviewing and recommending some of his favorite kid-friendly finds. And while I’m certain moms will like it too, there is no shortage of mom-material on the web. I think it’s nice to see another site geared toward dads instead.
If you check out the site and like what you see, you can also follow @DadAesthetic on Twitter and Facebook.
Is it sad that Yo Gabba Gabba Live is currently on my list of favorite live shows? Not just favorite live kid shows, but one of my favorite live shows ever?
While I liked the music and on-stage theatrics, I must admit the reason the show ranks so high is because of how much I enjoyed watching Camille enjoy the show. We’ve attended live kid shows before, but the energy and crowd participation at the Gabba show was the best we’ve seen yet.
Another reason our show experience was so great was location, location, location. We bought our tickets well in advance and scored third row seats. It was really cool being so close to the stage and the beloved characters. When confetti and balloons rained from the ceiling, we were right in the thick of it. When the kids began dancing in the aisles, our spot in the orchestra pit provided a most excellent dance floor.
The look on Camille’s face when Brobee grabbed some balloons and floated into the air was truly priceless. Sure, I could see the wire lifting him safely off the stage, but when you’re four years old, it’s just pure magic.
Best of all, our seats were not just close, they were aisle seats right next to the stage steps. This gave us prime access to the actors/characters. Here’s the video proof – a quick clip montage of our Gabba adventure, including Camille’s high-five with DJ Lance Rock and hugs from Muno and Foofa.
Yesterday, it was officially Alva Heidel day in Fitzgerald, Georgia. The Mayor said so and even had a plaque to prove it.
People packed into a reception hall for a retirement party in her honor. She has spent more than 20 years as a 4-H agent in Ben Hill County, gently and diligently molding children to be better, kinder, stronger and smarter. Many current and former 4-Hers came to the reception to pour out their love as a way of thanking her for pouring out her love for two decades.
Erin and Jones were able to make the trip down from Boston, and we all enjoyed a chance to celebrate together (especially the cousins, who spent most of the reception playing underneath a table together, trying not to giggle too loudly).
Lee and Erin gathered comments from 4-Hers to put into a book for Alva, and it is a wonderful and moving tribute to all she has done for these kids. She’s a special lady, and I sure am glad she doesn’t get to retire from being a Boo or a mother-in-law. She’s a keeper!
That’s right, my daughter has a quote in an article on CBSSports.com, and it’s not about the Georgia Bulldogs. It’s about the peanut butter stomp. Lee has a quote too (a much longer one, but then again, he’s not four years old so it’s all relative).
We went to Jacksonville Wednesday night to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live, and it was simply AH-MAY-ZING. I will post more about it, including photos and video, but thought I’d go ahead and share this link to a CBS Sports article about three Jacksonville Jaguars players who were the “dancey-dance” guests at the show, featuring quotes from my two peeps.
