It was a lovely mothers day for me. All the past mothers day, we had always been traveling, so it was nice to be home this time. In 2009, when I was pregnant with Neil, we were coming back from our babymoon in Hawaii. Hubs got me two overpriced necklaces from the airport. In 2010, we were coming back from Portland. It was a very memorable trip and you can read all about it here and here. Needless to say, gifts were not on either of our minds that day.
This year, we stay put at home and the men at church hosted a dinner for the ladies. They had children escort the moms and carry their plates and the men served us lunch. It was so sweet!!! Then we all got a small gift. Neil and R gave me a card and a necklace which I am wearing now. It is the cutest thing with a turtle for a locket which comes with 5 colours. Neil ahem has a habit of going all out for gifts. So I told him strictly that I didn't care what he bought me as long as it was under $25. And this one was $24.99. And did I mention I love it? Then they took me out to dinner at Elephant Bar. So it was a pretty good mothers day. Although, compared to last year, even if we did NOTHING AT ALL, it still would have been an excellent one by comparison. ha.
I do not have any pictures, but Neil looked really cute in his smocked jon jon which he completely spolit with baked beans and heaven knows what else. He also had a haircut on Saturday. And so did his daddy. I am not exactly sure what is wrong with me, but I love him with slightly long and curly hair. So I get sentimental whenever he has a haircut. This is how his haircut goes in this house. Hubs will be mercilessly chopping off his hair while I stand there and offer helpful comments like, enough, wait, leave some in the front, don't take off all the curls etc. And Neil will be screaming all throughout. Fun times. Now he looks just like the wild toddler boy that he is. Sometimes I wonder if all toddler boys are like this or if mine is extra wild. He growls so well. R says he has never seen an almost two year old growl so well. Then again he hasn't seen many toddlers. I can't recall many growling toddlers myself.
I hope all my mommy readers had a wonderful mothers day.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Losing Weight
I have been on the losing weight bandwagon since mid-Jan 2011. When your child is 20 months old, you cannot continue to blame the said child for your 'extra real estate.' I have been trying to lose weight without dieting or exercising in 2010. Surprisingly, it didn't work. Who would have thought? Although to be honest, I never gained weight not dieting or exercising for a major part of my life. All that indiscriminate eating has come now to bite my butt. Like literally.
The other day, I was at the BMV getting my license renewed and the lady asked me if I was expecting. I told her I wasn't expecting anything other than a license. She was visibly embarassed and apologized couple of times, but hey, it is what it is. That was though, the kick I needed to get back to the gym. I had not gone for two weeks. The problem with exercising sporadically is that the working out really increases the appetite and well, getting back to eating a whole burrito bol is not the fastest way to weight loss. It is in fact the fastest way to weight gain. Maybe that way I would be the only person who gains weight after 6 months of working out.
I have been trying out a few things to help me. These are the things which I know I should do. But it is like what Paul says in his letter to Romans. Although I am pretty sure he was not talking about weight loss. Here is the list of things I should be doing, and try my best to.
1. Drinking water.
Whenever I start to feel hungry, I take to drinking water. It gives a false feeling of fullness without actually contributing negatively. To help, I try and keep a bottle with me at all times. I am not drinking anywhere near I should be, but I have to start somewhere.
2. Eating breakfast.
This has been the hardest for me. I am not a morning person, and I somehow muddle through the morning until about 10 am, but I am rarely hungry. Also taking care of all the morning stuff, I just keep skipping. I have to make a conscious effort to eat and it has been harder than I thought. I try now, even if it is just a bowl of cereal.
3. Eating meat.
The second hardest thing. Husband and I did a fitness test and they told me that I need to introduce more protein in my diet. I have started eating chicken and fish. i figured, Neil needs protein as well and I have taken to cooking meat. Truth be told, I don't care for any meat (except fish, which I don't consider meat) and eating it once a day has been a bit of a challenge. But I did find that it has helped me in reducing the amount of rice which leads me to the next one.
4. Frequent Meals
I was told to have 5-6 meals a day. I used to have 2, I am aiming to double that. So far I manage 3. Let's not go overboard. I am not looking to be a supermodel here.
5. Portion Control
When I initially started all this thing, I thought this would be the hardest. Turns out, it wasn't too bad. The days I follow 1,2,3 and 4, portion control naturally follows. I mean I drink a gallon of water (not that I ever did) and eat protein and a good breakfast, and a snack to boot, it is not like I can eat a ton of rice at lunch anyway! On the best days, I reduce my rice to 50% of the peak and that has been awesome. But I can count on one hand how many times that happened.
6. Triggers and Pushpoints
This doesn't have anything to do with dieting per se, but I have found in the last months that when I get burnt out or DONE, I tend to eat crap. And it took me a while to realize what my triggers are. One of the major triggers is stuff lying around and things on kitchen counters. Maybe I am bizzare, but I tend to get overwhelmed if I see that. Then instead of doing anything, I sit with a book and munch. It is difficult with a toddler to keep things where they are. But I try and put things away so I am not looking at a tornado bitten house at the end of the day.
I lost 4 pounds in the last month. That has been encouraging knowing that I have not done a lot in terms of sticking to the ideal. If anyone who is reading this struggles with weight loss, I hope you are encouraged. Some days, when I have had a hard day with Neil, that is when I tend to raid the fridge/pantry and binge on chips/brownies etc. Now I keep yogurt and nuts. Even if I do get a craving, there is nothing much available. I hope that the changes I am trying to make will soon become habits and the habits will become part of my lifestyle.
But until then I will stay away from the chips aisle in Publix.
The other day, I was at the BMV getting my license renewed and the lady asked me if I was expecting. I told her I wasn't expecting anything other than a license. She was visibly embarassed and apologized couple of times, but hey, it is what it is. That was though, the kick I needed to get back to the gym. I had not gone for two weeks. The problem with exercising sporadically is that the working out really increases the appetite and well, getting back to eating a whole burrito bol is not the fastest way to weight loss. It is in fact the fastest way to weight gain. Maybe that way I would be the only person who gains weight after 6 months of working out.
I have been trying out a few things to help me. These are the things which I know I should do. But it is like what Paul says in his letter to Romans. Although I am pretty sure he was not talking about weight loss. Here is the list of things I should be doing, and try my best to.
1. Drinking water.
Whenever I start to feel hungry, I take to drinking water. It gives a false feeling of fullness without actually contributing negatively. To help, I try and keep a bottle with me at all times. I am not drinking anywhere near I should be, but I have to start somewhere.
2. Eating breakfast.
This has been the hardest for me. I am not a morning person, and I somehow muddle through the morning until about 10 am, but I am rarely hungry. Also taking care of all the morning stuff, I just keep skipping. I have to make a conscious effort to eat and it has been harder than I thought. I try now, even if it is just a bowl of cereal.
3. Eating meat.
The second hardest thing. Husband and I did a fitness test and they told me that I need to introduce more protein in my diet. I have started eating chicken and fish. i figured, Neil needs protein as well and I have taken to cooking meat. Truth be told, I don't care for any meat (except fish, which I don't consider meat) and eating it once a day has been a bit of a challenge. But I did find that it has helped me in reducing the amount of rice which leads me to the next one.
4. Frequent Meals
I was told to have 5-6 meals a day. I used to have 2, I am aiming to double that. So far I manage 3. Let's not go overboard. I am not looking to be a supermodel here.
5. Portion Control
When I initially started all this thing, I thought this would be the hardest. Turns out, it wasn't too bad. The days I follow 1,2,3 and 4, portion control naturally follows. I mean I drink a gallon of water (not that I ever did) and eat protein and a good breakfast, and a snack to boot, it is not like I can eat a ton of rice at lunch anyway! On the best days, I reduce my rice to 50% of the peak and that has been awesome. But I can count on one hand how many times that happened.
6. Triggers and Pushpoints
This doesn't have anything to do with dieting per se, but I have found in the last months that when I get burnt out or DONE, I tend to eat crap. And it took me a while to realize what my triggers are. One of the major triggers is stuff lying around and things on kitchen counters. Maybe I am bizzare, but I tend to get overwhelmed if I see that. Then instead of doing anything, I sit with a book and munch. It is difficult with a toddler to keep things where they are. But I try and put things away so I am not looking at a tornado bitten house at the end of the day.
I lost 4 pounds in the last month. That has been encouraging knowing that I have not done a lot in terms of sticking to the ideal. If anyone who is reading this struggles with weight loss, I hope you are encouraged. Some days, when I have had a hard day with Neil, that is when I tend to raid the fridge/pantry and binge on chips/brownies etc. Now I keep yogurt and nuts. Even if I do get a craving, there is nothing much available. I hope that the changes I am trying to make will soon become habits and the habits will become part of my lifestyle.
But until then I will stay away from the chips aisle in Publix.
Monday, April 04, 2011
Not peaches and icecream
It was a wonderful weekend. I know that the majority of the people who read this blog don't care, but it has been a great weekend for India as they won the world cup cricket championship after 28 years. We three went to a theater here and watched the second half of the game with 250 screaming fans, Indian flags waving in the air, it was awesome. So pretty much the whole weekend, we talked of nothing else. We all wore blue in support and Neil slept through a lot of the game which really helped. It was a great memory to watch India win and singing the National Anthem at the end and for all three of us to do it together. We ate out after that and
Sunday was church and then we came home, took a nap and I worked on the yard a bit. We also found out on Sunday that our tax e-file came back rejected. I was on the phone most of the day with IRS and taking care of various other stuff. I barely had time to make lunch. Afternoon was spent helping hubby with some work and evening we went for workout.
As I was unable to do anything around the house, it looks awful. Anyone with a toddler in the house knows what the house is like after a day of toddler activity. I just feel exhausted. It is not often I feel miserable and exhausted and snappy at the end of the day, but I am today. I am actually feeling sorry for myself. I know I am blessed and all that, but the occassional day is rough. I hope to get up early tomorrow and get a head start on things to feel better. Sorry I was such a wet blanket today, but everything is not peaches and icecream everyday.
Sunday was church and then we came home, took a nap and I worked on the yard a bit. We also found out on Sunday that our tax e-file came back rejected. I was on the phone most of the day with IRS and taking care of various other stuff. I barely had time to make lunch. Afternoon was spent helping hubby with some work and evening we went for workout.
As I was unable to do anything around the house, it looks awful. Anyone with a toddler in the house knows what the house is like after a day of toddler activity. I just feel exhausted. It is not often I feel miserable and exhausted and snappy at the end of the day, but I am today. I am actually feeling sorry for myself. I know I am blessed and all that, but the occassional day is rough. I hope to get up early tomorrow and get a head start on things to feel better. Sorry I was such a wet blanket today, but everything is not peaches and icecream everyday.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Ultimate Blog Party 2011 - Welcome
If you are coming here from the Ultimate Blog Party 2011, a warm welcome to you. Grab your beverage of choice and join me here. Please feel free to browse around and read more.
To get you started, the links on the right side which says Even More Things About Me would be a good place to start.
Are you back? Well, while you were out looking at it, I did too. I realized that the Link "Why Just About Anything?' is outdated. Sorry to have wasted 2 minutes of your life. I do have a cute child now and I am a SAHM now. I gave up my job when the cute factor in the house rose exponentially around 2009. I lost my figure, went through pain, delivered the child and I saw no reason not to be there to enjoy all that cuteness once he was out of my tummy.
I love traveling and I have come to realize that I do love cooking. It has come rather as a shock to me. I do not like the clean up after and despite the cooking, I am not very domestic. I have succeeded well in killing anything I have tried to grow in the garden, yet I continue to try every year. The Spring season gets me every year. I love reading and try to read a little bit everyday. I might not have time to wash dishes everyday, but I have time to read. Priorities, people.
I am a nerd, and love to play word games. I am rather sarcastic in real life. Hubby is still my best friend after 5 years of marriage. It is awfully sappy, but I love him more than I did 5 years ago.
I used to to be terrified of dogs, but got one and then had to give him up. It was one of the hardest things I had to do. I wrote about it here.
I am Indian living in America and I once wrote about what I love about America.
I am shy at real life parties, but I hope it didn't show in this one. Once the party is over, I hope you come back and visit me again.
Project Simplify - Kitchen Pantry
I have been planning on joining Simple Mom's Project!Simplify since it started. Unfortunately, the planning never got to the execution part and so I still have HUGE paper clutter, my closet is only halfway done, toys are still strewn about. BUT, when I read about the hot spot being the pantry, I knew I had to do it. It totally needed to be done, but it was not as intimidating as the paper clutter which I am not very confident of tackling in this life. Anyway, my dear husband took an unexpected day off, and so I had help with the little one and thusly the stars were all aligned on the pantry cleaning.
I had recently cleaned out our fridge very thoroughly, so I figured, I only had to do the pantry and thought I would finish it in no time. But I am slightly obsessive compulsive and I started with the pantry and ended up clearing out the pantry and ALL the cupboards. As the cupboards were not originally on my plan, I don't have before pictures of that.
My feet are tired, and I am yawning incessantly, but good heavens, I feel so GOOD.
So, here is the before picture of the pantry
Top Part
Bottom Part
After about 2 hours of washing old jars, throwing stale, old and unrecognizable stuff, and rearranging things around to make it more accessible, here is how it looks.
Top Part
Bottom Part
The entire thing
I don't have before pictures for the cabinets, except for this one. Even this is one halfway through so it is not very representative. Trust me when I say that it was not pretty.
Here is the after for all the cabinets.
At the left corner, I have put together all snacks that have been at various places. That way, next time we get hungry, we (and by we I mean my husband) will know where to look.
So this accounts for about half of my day. It has been rather productive and I am pleased with myself.
I had recently cleaned out our fridge very thoroughly, so I figured, I only had to do the pantry and thought I would finish it in no time. But I am slightly obsessive compulsive and I started with the pantry and ended up clearing out the pantry and ALL the cupboards. As the cupboards were not originally on my plan, I don't have before pictures of that.
My feet are tired, and I am yawning incessantly, but good heavens, I feel so GOOD.
So, here is the before picture of the pantry
Top Part
Bottom Part
After about 2 hours of washing old jars, throwing stale, old and unrecognizable stuff, and rearranging things around to make it more accessible, here is how it looks.
Top Part
Bottom Part
The entire thing
I don't have before pictures for the cabinets, except for this one. Even this is one halfway through so it is not very representative. Trust me when I say that it was not pretty.
Here is the after for all the cabinets.
At the left corner, I have put together all snacks that have been at various places. That way, next time we get hungry, we (and by we I mean my husband) will know where to look.
So this accounts for about half of my day. It has been rather productive and I am pleased with myself.
Monday, March 28, 2011
19 months
It has been a while since I posted last and it has been an even longer while since I wrote what Neil is up to these days. I do regret not keeping up with my monthly letters. As a matter of fact, I think the changes were even more from month 12 to now than the first 12 months. I cannot go back and remedy the lack of documenting that, so I thought I would write about what is going on now.
He is now 19 months old and a naughty little toddler.
His favorite thing to do is read or actually being read to. I am not sure if it is because he gets to sit in my lap and gets my undivided attention or if he really loves books. I think a little bit of both. Either way, I am not complaining.
He still eats well, but he has this funny habit of rejecting the first bite of anything I offer him. He turns his head away and makes faces and then I somehow manage to get it down his throat. After that, everything is great. Funny little boy!
He LOVES strawberries and between the two of us, we go through a pound bag pretty soon. Good thing it is the season now.
He doesnt like sitting in his chair and eating, mostly he runs around and then comes back to eat the rest. It is just easier for both of us. Thankfully, I don't have to run after him, he just comes back after all the wanderings.
His thing to do now is make sure all doors are shut. Sometimes even when people are in the middle. He is a man with a mission. THE DOORS NEED TO BE SHUT, PEOPLE. Car doors, microwave doors, regular doors, oven doors, you need a door shut, Neil is your man.
He does not understand the concept of his dad working from home. His favorite place to be is sitting behind R in the chair. I am the mean momma because I take him out from there so R can get some work done.
The laptops are his arch nemesis, if we are working on them, he will push it away.
He still laughs when something falls or unexpected sounds happen and his laugh melts us. It is the sweetest sound and we do anything to hear that.
He doesn't talk many words except No, daddy, mamma and bow bow. But he talks entire sentences in his own language which I think is much cuter than ours. And he says those stuff seriously too. It is just the cutest thing.
Speaking of words, he says No with such an accent. Like Naaaw. Cracks us up to no end.
He loves being outside, weekends are his favourite days as he gets lots of attention from both of us, and he is such a cuddlebug. These days, he wants to be rocked to sleep before he goes down for the night.
He loves to walk in the middle holding both our hands and I take a mental photograph of that and tuck it away. I savor all these sweet memories as these days speed by me all too quickly.
Neil 1 year ago
He is now 19 months old and a naughty little toddler.
His favorite thing to do is read or actually being read to. I am not sure if it is because he gets to sit in my lap and gets my undivided attention or if he really loves books. I think a little bit of both. Either way, I am not complaining.
He still eats well, but he has this funny habit of rejecting the first bite of anything I offer him. He turns his head away and makes faces and then I somehow manage to get it down his throat. After that, everything is great. Funny little boy!
He LOVES strawberries and between the two of us, we go through a pound bag pretty soon. Good thing it is the season now.
He doesnt like sitting in his chair and eating, mostly he runs around and then comes back to eat the rest. It is just easier for both of us. Thankfully, I don't have to run after him, he just comes back after all the wanderings.
His thing to do now is make sure all doors are shut. Sometimes even when people are in the middle. He is a man with a mission. THE DOORS NEED TO BE SHUT, PEOPLE. Car doors, microwave doors, regular doors, oven doors, you need a door shut, Neil is your man.
He does not understand the concept of his dad working from home. His favorite place to be is sitting behind R in the chair. I am the mean momma because I take him out from there so R can get some work done.
The laptops are his arch nemesis, if we are working on them, he will push it away.
He still laughs when something falls or unexpected sounds happen and his laugh melts us. It is the sweetest sound and we do anything to hear that.
He doesn't talk many words except No, daddy, mamma and bow bow. But he talks entire sentences in his own language which I think is much cuter than ours. And he says those stuff seriously too. It is just the cutest thing.
Speaking of words, he says No with such an accent. Like Naaaw. Cracks us up to no end.
He loves being outside, weekends are his favourite days as he gets lots of attention from both of us, and he is such a cuddlebug. These days, he wants to be rocked to sleep before he goes down for the night.
He loves to walk in the middle holding both our hands and I take a mental photograph of that and tuck it away. I savor all these sweet memories as these days speed by me all too quickly.
Neil 1 year ago
Friday, March 11, 2011
Stream of Thought
I bring him up from the car. It is late and he has gone to sleep. R holds him and I remove his shoes. We had to change him and put his jammies. He half wakes up and cries. I take him to our room instead of putting him in the crib. Usually, I go off to do "important" tasks and let him sleep by himself. Today, I snuggle with him. These days he won't let me squish and snuggle when he is awake. He is too busy running around. We lay cheek to cheek. I synchronize my breathing with him. I inhale his smell. I press him close to my heart. He stirs in his sleep.
I think of how small he was and how fragile he seemed to me when he was a newborn. I rub his back and pray for him. I lay him down back in his crib and keep Tigger next to him. He is fast asleep. There were tantrums, and drama today. But now he sleeps like an angel. I marvel at how long he has become when I see him all stretched out like that. I sigh and walk back out.
I think of how small he was and how fragile he seemed to me when he was a newborn. I rub his back and pray for him. I lay him down back in his crib and keep Tigger next to him. He is fast asleep. There were tantrums, and drama today. But now he sleeps like an angel. I marvel at how long he has become when I see him all stretched out like that. I sigh and walk back out.
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