Secular Confessions

[missychrissy]

I think daycare would be an issue for working parents, though.

This was my first thought. When the girls were little, it was quite the pain in the butt to arrange for different daycare depending on whether they were in school or not. I wouldn't want to do it more than twice a year (once when school starts, and then again when it's finished). It's bad enough dealing with the weeks off during the middle of the school year (like Christmas). Some daycare providers can't have kids full time, or they can't have all the kids they watch part time full time (like they would watch mine in the morning, and someone else's kids in the afternoon, but couldn't watch all the kids at the same time all day). It's a nightmare.

[daylilies]

I guess a couple shorter breaks during the year would be easier than the huge summer vacation break.

[missychrissy]

I prefer to have just one break to worry about. I guess it's not such a big deal to me now (the daycare) but I do like having my kids home in the summer.

[Suja]

As a kid, I liked how things worked in India. We had days off for Hindu, Muslim and Christian holidays, so there were regular breaks during the school year, and then about a month or two off for summer.

Did an upper body workout today, but kind of phoned it in, 'cause I know I should've used heavier weights. Then to atone, I did some pilates. Will be lucky if I can crawl tomorrow. I had never done pilates before, and man, it looks simple, but it is anything but.

[Ky'sMom]

They have a few year round schools here in Atlanta. I considered sending Ky to one, but honestly, I like the traditional schedule and having the kids home in the summer for a long stretch of time for us to go on vacations or do things together for family time. I think the breaks are too choppy. The schools that are year round usually do something like 8 weeks on then 3 weeks off. They get 6 weeks off for the summer, usually the month of July and the last week of June and the first week of August (school starts here usually around August 8th or 9th). I felt that finding daycare for all those breaks would be tough. We can get a summer program at the Boys and Girls Club near our house for the summer for only $150 for the whole summer. Three weeks of daycare for Ky would be the same price and multiplied a few times a year and that is a lot of money.

Hope you are not too sore tomorrow Suja. I did pilates back in the day and enjoyed it. It really did strengthen my core. Even now that I have fat over my abs I can still tell they are really strong. I just need to do some cardio to get rid of the fat. I have decided to start walking on the treadmill for a few weeks for an hour a day so I can lose 10lbs over the next couple weeks at least. I usually am not a big weight loss focused sort of woman. It bothers me that us women spend so much time worrying about our looks, but it has always been a goal of mine to be in tip top shape healthwise (not necessarily appearance wise as that is subjective) by the time I am 35. I will be 33 next month so I have two years to get it together, especially since I have been really slacking on eating as healthy as I can and getting exercise ever since I got sick back at the end of October. I think about how this time last year I was training for a 5K and eventually did that and now I am just sitting around on my lazy bum eating candy bars (not every day but probably twice a week). So I need to get it together. I am promising myself I won't get all obsessed, which I tend to do about birthday goals. I am trying to get the goal together and have it last for at least 6 months.

I treat my birthday as my personal New Years and usually will set some sort of goal for myself, usually it is a short term goal, like last year with the 5K. Years ago I made a goal not to buy white bread anymore, and I don't so that one has stuck. I also have made goals not to drink pop/soda, that has also stuck. I really want the exercise/healthy eating thing to stick but honestly I get obsessed and crazy about things like this and I am afraid I will take it to the extreme so I am planning it out to be something really easy and not restrictive so I don't go off the deep end.

Erin

[daylilies]

I had planned to lose 30 lbs for the cruise this year but it's not working out. I lost 20 for the cruise last year but sadly I have gained it back. I think it's because I went on a no-carb diet. I really need to learn to just eat healthy for life and not do fad diets. But I live in the middle of all the fast food in the area and I get tempted. I really hope when I don't have to drive Josh to and from school around my lunch time next year that I won't be so tempted.

I wish there was a fast and healthy way to lose weight...I'm down to 3 months to lose 30 lbs and it's just not going to happen.

[Ky'sMom]

Yeah, I did a low carb diet once, Atkins actually and I lost a lot of weight but gained it all back. After that I decided not to do any diets like that anymore . I once made a personal birthday goal about 5 years ago to eat 9 servings of veggies per day. It was pretty easy since I usually eat more than an actual serving of veggies in one sitting anyway, but over the past year I have lost that habit so I know that I will go back to that with this new birthday goal. I just try to do little things like that but I really do have to get some fat off of me since I know that as we get older the metabolism can slow and you can gain more weight. Even though I have great numbers now (BP, cholesterol, liver and kidney function, etc.) I don't want to risk having some sort of problem in the future that I can prevent. Like a lot of families, mine has a history of heart disease. Plus black people have a higher incidence of diabetes and even though diabetes is not rampant in my family like other people I know, those of us who have a taste for the sweets (which is me unfortunately) usually seem to be the ones to get it. So one of my goals will be to severely limit sugar but I don't know if I will be able to do that without going obsessive crazy, like not even letting anyone in the house with sugary treats LOL! I can see myself doing something like this and fighting Ky over cookies or something.

Erin

[Suja]

Maybe those of us that have weight loss/fitness goals should do it together. Not so much to step on a scale constantly, but as a way for us to have a support system. I know that I used to work out very regularly when I did it with friends. They kept me honest, and wouldn't take BS excuses.

[Bridget]

Somehow I am below my weight where I was before becoming pregnant with Sawyer. I haven't been working out but I guess because I'm still breastfeeding and because I'm pretty much always moving around and running up and down the steps from the daycare to my kitchen about 50 times a day. No lie. At least that many times. I'm happy with where I'm at now but really need to do strength training to tighten up my body and just become strong in general. I'm like you, Erin in that as I get older I want to stay in tip top shape so I can avoid health problems.

[Suja]

I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight, but I really could lose about 10 pounds, and more importantly, I'm nowhere near the shape I was in pre-pregnancy. My stomach especially is AWFUL. I look fine head-on. Turn to the side, and that's a whole different story. I have noticed the same issue in my cousins and aunts (but not my mom), so it might have some sort of familial component to it, but I know that they don't/haven't worked out, so I'll give it a go and see what happens.

[3andMe]

My sister wants me to join MyFitnessPal with her and another friend, to track daily weights, exercise, and calorie intake. I told her I didn't think I could do it. I tried doing something like that once, a long time ago, before I had kids, and it was way too difficult figuring out my daily calories then, when I had seemingly unlimited time. When I make different meals every week, with multiple different ingredients, and those recipes are not things I can just input into a program (like "lasagna") and have it calculate a calorie per serving for me, it is very time-consuming.

On the other hand, I have gained 15 pounds in the past year since I stopped breast-feeding, and I do not like that.

I just got the acceptance letter from our local school district. Both twins made it into our first-choice school for kindergarten! I am so relieved.

DD set up a playdate for today on her own ("Emma! It's been so long since we've had a playdate! I haven't seen you or played with you in a long time! Could we have a playdate this coming weekend, like maybe Saturday?") and invited my mom to stay for dinner on Tuesday night. Both responsible parties (my mom and Emma's mom) checked with me to make sure it was all right, and DH thinks it's adorable that DD is starting to take charge of her social life. She has come a long way from the little girl who would self-identify as shy and hide behind me if people so much as looked at her.

DD just bounded out of her room and said, "Mom! Do you know the best thing about today? I have a playdate with Emma!"

I wish we had year-round school here. Not just for the dilemma of what to do with kids during summer vacation (seriously, what do working parents do? Send them to camp all summer?) but also because unless they continue working, they tend to lose a lot of skills during that long break. Also, it doesn't make sense to have school out during the summer months in really hot places like Texas and Arizona, when the kids can't play outside.

[demigraf]

L, that's really great that the twins got into the kgtn of preference. I hope that also means that Baby S is a shoe-in for that school now too.

C is so great for setting up her playdates!

I wouldn't mind if this thread turned into a fitness support group (on top of a doggie advice room). I gained back nearly half of those 8 lbs I lost last year, and ideally, I would lose 15 more. Hopefully, training for a 12k will help me along. The most important thing I need to learn is portion control - so simple and yet the hardest habit to shape. I am hellbent on not gaining as much weight as I did the last time I worked on contract with this company. Oh, and if I can figure out how to deal with those crazy appetite spikes around my period, that would go a long way. I talked to that naturopath yesterday, and before I try full on treatment with her, I'm going to try some seeds and herbs she recommended.

I did a low-carb diet once, and not only gained back everything but also developed a sweet tooth I never had before.

[demigraf]

Regarding the school year and my my work week for that matter, I would be open to it being year-round 4 days on/3 days off, with holidays off too. I personally would prefer a regular 3 day weekend and would even be willing to tack on an extra hour a day to make up for some of the lost time.

[missychrissy]

L, great news about the twins getting into your first choice school! That's adorable about Claire scheduling her own social activities. I remember clearly when Bobbie did that and the full realization that she was her own individual person with a life outside our own hit me. I mean, I knew it on one level, but then to see it in action is quite another.

Regarding the school year and my my work week for that matter, I would be open to it being year-round 4 days on/3 days off, with holidays off too. I personally would prefer a regular 3 day weekend and would even be willing to tack on an extra hour a day to make up for some of the lost time.

I'd love to have a 3 day weekend for myself. I feel like Saturdays are eaten up by shopping and Sundays with housecleaning. I'd love to have a full day to play fun things-or nothing. I can't shop every other week or every month. And no matter how many times I say I'm getting it all day on Saturday so I can rest on Sunday, it never works out. Generally by the time I get home from shopping my girls have planned things out with friends and I spend the afternoon/evening running them to & fro places. I don't mind that. It's what I signed up for when I decided to have kids. But still...just one day a week would be nice

[missychrissy]

As far as health and fitness...I really want to start running again. I don't need to lose weight, but like all women I see a mess when I look in the mirror. I'd like to be toner. And I'd like to be healthy later in life too. I gotta do something about smoking :/ It doesn't help that after 5.5 years of not smoking, I lost 30 lbs in 6 months when I picked it up again-and I really don't watch what I eat any more and I stopped running at that time too.

I talked to my coworker Faye and she's had similar experiences with smoking and weight management. Now she's just beginning the stages of menopause and has gained some weight. She said that in itself makes her not want to try quitting, but we've talked of trying those electric cigarettes that have the nicotine (that's what's causing our faster metabolism) or wearing patches. Both of us have below normal blood pressure and the only real risk to using nicotine alone is increased blood pressure. I have a lot of room for mine to go up before it's a concern.

I know-my thought patter is horrible but I know I won't stay off cigarettes if I gain that 30 lbs back on. I'm too vain.

[AmeriBrit]

I'd jump on the fitness wagon, too! I don't need to lose weight, but I need to tone my jelly belly. I've made a resolution to do at least 100 sit ups on the nights that I don't go to zumba. DH has a gig tonight so I'll be catching up on the ironing and then hopefully doing my sit ups!

[missychrissy]

I still think it's a hoot that you iron. I'm not sure why. You're very cute.

[Gwenn]

L, that is great about the kids getting your first choice school. Also adorable about C arranging her own playdate.

You're right, the summer is SO hot here it's insane. I really don't like to leave the house before early evening in the summer. Even getting into a car is difficult. So it's not much fun for kids to be home in the summer. But I remember back in high school those long August bus rides were absolutely miserable. Not having school just to avoid those bus rides is worth it.

I need to lose about 10 lbs, and I definitely am not happy with my tummy, but more than anything else I feel like I just haven't been taking care of myself recently. I need a hair cut, never put on make-up, etc. I don't look put together and to me that's worse than being 10lbs over where I would like to be. I need to do something about it.

[daylilies]

I don't see how anyone could not iron. Maybe I don't hang up my clothes in a timely enough manner but my shirts especially are alway wrinkled, and the few pants I like are cordouroy and are always rumpled after the day.

I used my fitness pal last year and it is a pain for recording things like home made meals where you're not really sure if the nutritional info is accurate. This time around I really need a plan that tells me what I can eat which is why I joined WW online but there is the same problem of having to record everything. My new plan is to try to eat WW meals for lunch and dinner as often as possible and try to snack sensibly. Snacking is my worst offense.

I've tried starting posts in the weight loss room, getting my twitter friends on board, etc. Nothing really helps me stay motivated. DH eats whatever he wants and stays skinny so he's not really on board with me and he's too much of an enabler.

[missychrissy]

Men have many faults, but their fast metabolism has got to be the worst.

I made a mess of my finances again. I'm trying to manage two accounts and even though I'm a smart person, it's just too much for me. I don't know how I did this, but I deposited a check in one account and then spent the money out of another one. I didn't realize it for a whole week and now I'm nearly $200 in the hole! Ugh. I'm so disgusted with myself. If it were a one time occurrence, it wouldn't be a big deal. But I swear I make these stupid mistakes all.the.time. I wish, wish, wish with my entire body and soul that I could just give someone my paycheck and have a weekly allowance.

[raspberry]

That is great the twins got into the school!

I have often wondered what working parents do during summer break. Last night on the news they were talking about day care centers being open 24/7 and kids being dropped off at 2am or picked up at midnight. They featured one child, age 5, that is in day care from 3:30pm until 9pm when her mom gets off work from cooking at a restaurant. It made me sad. It made me really appreciate all the sacrifices my parents made while raising us kids. My mom was a sahm until I was 12, then she started her own business, so after school I would go to her office with her.

This morning we went to the new Children's Museum, G and his friend had a blast!!! It's really nice, with a lot of fun activities. I can see that we will be going there a lot during the hot summer months. We started the morning with G's sports class and he was a funk of "I can't do it" ugh. Then 3 hours at the museum, my senses are on overload. I need quiet now.

I got Mockingjay today, yay!!!

[daylilies]

Chrissy, that kind of stuff happens to me all the time too.

[Bridget]

Sorry if I'm complaining about dbf a lot. But I'm going to again.
We were hanging out on the deck today for the first time since Sawyer started crawling. In the winter it's been covered with snow. Well he was crawling around in complete shrieking joy, it was so fun to watch. But then I noticed the gap between the rails and the floor of the deck was a gap he could fit through so I asked dbf if he thought so and he said yes but in a month or two when he was bigger it would be fine. I actually laughed because the complete ridiculousness of that made me sure it was just a joke. I asked how we could childproof it and he looked at me like I'd lost it and said there was nothing we could do but wait for him to grow and keep him off the deck unless we're watching him. HA. He'd escaped out there half a dozen times this afternoon alone with everyone coming in and out and leaving the door open. I chased him each time, I was on him like glue because he still puts everything in his mouth. Soon he started going straight for the edge of the deck and turning his back to scootch down the way he does to get down stairs. If he wouldn't fall right through, he'd be hanging there...um, by his neck. Ugh, i hate the thought.
I wanted to effing strangle dbf. He told me to stop acting crazy. We just have to keep the door shut and make sure the kids know and blah blah blah. Finally I told him that leaving it and doing nothing is just as if we had a pool right outside our back door and no safety features installed outside of telling everyone to keep the door shut. I told him I was going to get 2X4 and nail them all around across the gap horizontally, thus dividing the gap into 2 small gaps that Sawyer could not fit through. And that I'm doing it tomorrow.
Then I set Sawyer down from arms and told dbf to watch him go and he crawled straight to the edge in about 7 seconds.
Now he's all for fixing it and was saying stupid sh!t like, "I'd never let anything happen to my boy. How could you think that?"

I can't believe that he didn't think that was a hazard. That his answer was to wait from him to grow bigger and then it won't be dangerous anymore. WTF?
So many other little things that happened today that I just can't even begin to tell you all. I'm frustrated and annoyed as hell tonight and so happy he fell asleep while laying with Kai because I need to be alone.

[daylilies]

It sounds like your idea will work, Bridget. You're right to not want to risk it.

[Bridget]

It sounds like your idea will work, Bridget. You're right to not want to risk it.

It's just a no brainer. I know us. Our kids NEVER remember to shut doors behind them. Heck, I leave door open and especially the patio door in the summer because it's off the kitchen and we are cooking out on the deck, and doing crafts, and playing, just all over the place. I'm wondering if I could even just use the staple gun and from outside staple heavy duty cardboard from the broken down boxed in the garage all around the perimeter. That might be easier and less expensive than nailing wood. It might not look pretty.

[daylilies]

Seriously! I wouldn't want to risk it with two kids Kai and Savana's age either. Josh never shuts doors either. He gets out of the car, leaves the door open. Walks in the house, leaves the door open. Goes to the bathroom, leaves the door open.

[Suja]

Bridget, if you're going to take the trouble to do it, might as well do it right. Cardboard might not hold up well enough.

[Bridget]

Bridget, if you're going to take the trouble to do it, might as well do it right. Cardboard might not hold up well enough.

Yup, that's what I'm thinking too. Spring is wet and wet cardboard is slop.

[Cosmosmom]

Congrats about the twins getting into your top choice L!

I'm on board the weight loss too. Except I have way more than a few lbs to lose! I would be satisfied with 30-40....I did NOT handle infertility well at all for a few years there. This week I was on the elliptical twice...first day .5 miles, next time .55 miles so tomorrow will try for .6 miles. And on Friday since I was late to work I missed the shuttle bus and had to walk in...from my car to my office is at least 1.5 miles.
So the plan is to start getting in more physical activity. I would like to be more flexible and less stiff than I am right now.

And the other the big part of the plan is to not keep alcohol in the house most of the time. I have very little will power for that....if it is here, at night I will drink it. I figure that alone should easily be at least 1 lb a week lost. Which also has the benefit of reducing my monthly grocery bill 75-100 probably. I already buy a lot of fruits and veggies so it's not like that part will increase.

and with nicer weather coming, I would like to get the dogs out for walks. Well soon as Poogie learns how to walk on a leash. Right now we barely make it down the driveway. LOL We will work on that more once she is healed up from the surgery.

[missychrissy]

Oh Bridget I don't know why he doesn't get it. That's why they call them 'accidents' Because stuff happens. Could you get lattice and use a staple gun to attach that? It would be both strong and perhaps attractive?