Christmas 2012 007

Christmas 2012 007, a photo by MelissaandSusan on Flickr.

Apple picking (for real this time)!

FINALLY we went apple picking and were successful. The past several years have been a bust, but this year we decided to go to Virginia and meet up with my dear friend, Jenny and her kids at Carter's Mountain. We combined this with an already planned trip to Richmond to celebrate all the fall birthdays and we had a great time. Though, as it turns out, apple picking is kind of hard. And muddy. And smelly. I think next time I will just go for the hayride and apple cider donut and skip apple picking. Ha! The kids had so much fun and I always love getting them together with Noah and Mallory. I wish more than anything that they were growing up near each other. I miss Jenny and Charlottesville and my other friends there a lot and am always sad after a visit. Ultimately, our jobs will keep us here and having the kids home with us and not in daycare is worth more than anything. So, we aren't moving. But, that doesn't mean I don't think about it all the time!

Anyway, here are some pictures from their time on the mountain and with their cousins, including their new cousin, Shelby.

Lucy being Lucy:

Big, fat update.

Now that I finally have the use of both arms (mostly) I wanted to update the last few months. I have discovered that doing the kids' yearly books takes a long time, especially when the blog is behind! There will be subtitles. I know.

School
School started the first week in September for both kids. This is Theo's third year and was to be Lucy's first. We had a last minute game change for Theo, in that a spot opened up in the other 3 year old class which was good because he would be with most of his friends, but it did change the days he would go. In the end, we took it. So, he goes to school M, T,W from 9-12 (except on Mondays when he stays for lunch bunch). He went right into his class with no trouble and is already having a banner year. They have show and tell, music class and more art projects than we've ever seen. He loves it.

And, Lucy. Sweet Goose. We I knew that she was not going to make it this year. She is just still socially so shy and needs to be with us most all of the time, that I figured she was going to hate it. And she did. We stuck it out for two weeks and the school was SO amazing at trying to work with her and us to find a way for her to learn to like school. In the end, we realized it wasn't going to get better and there was just no reason to torture her further. She's not yet two and if she needs another year home with us, then she does. We will try again next year and hope that with age, maturity and more verbal skills that she will flourish.

Here are their pictures on the first day:





Dance
For anyone who knows me, it's no secret how much I love dance and how much it was a part of my life as a teen. I have waited and waited and waited for a little girl and then one who was old enough for dance class. When Theo went to a birthday party this summer at a dance studio owned by one of the families of a kid in his class, I noticed they had a Mommy and Me class for Lucy's age! I registered her right away and she started at the beginning of September. It's so fun and she actually does really well. She likes the dancing and hand motions more than some of the other stuff, except the balance beam. She really loves that. I can't wait until she is old enough for a proper class, but I do have such a good time doing this with her on Saturday mornings.



Theo got hip to the fact that Lucy was dancing and said he wanted a dance class too. Imagine my overjoyment! (Is that a word?) Susan was a bit reluctant to put him in a traditional class where he would be the only boy, but spoke to someone who knew of a different studio that caters to boys and thought Theo would like it there. So, as a compromise, I enrolled him there and have two kids at two different places. Theo is in a boys only, 3-5 year old hip hop and funk class. And yes, it's as hilarious as you would expect. He absolutely LOVES it. I am already mentally planning for the gala this spring and can't wait to see him bust a move on stage. I need to get a picture of him!

Haircut
Lucy's hair had finally grown long enough to put in really good pigtails, but when it was down, she was rocking a super mullet. Since I was going to be unable to fix her hair for a few weeks anyway, we decided to go ahead and even it up. We got her a cute little bob that thickened her hair right away. It looks really nice and now it can continue to grow in and back to piggie length. In true Lucy form, she hated her haircut.





Health
I had surgery on my shoulder on August 30th. The fancy term is a biceps tenodesis with a subacromial decompression. Sounds fun, right? I've spent the last 6 weeks in a sling and it's been HARD. I do not do well mentally when I am out of commission. I need to be able to take care of my family. To cook, to clean, to do play dates, to run kids around - I need to do that. And when I can't, I get angry and miserable. This has confirmed my earlier thoughts that I never want to be pregnant again. I don't want to spend anymore time in pain or sick and unable to do everything I need to do. Anyway, the sling is off and I am working hard in PT every week and at home. I have very little range of motion and a lot of pain. It's going to be a long road back to full use.

This surgery was necessary because of the damage I did to my shoulder holding Lucy every waking second of her first year. I won't rehash that, but let's just say that was the hardest year of my life. And I am still paying for it, obviously.

Theo and I made a paper chain to count down getting the sling off and we had a sleepover to celebrate. We roasted marshmellows and watched It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It was so much fun and I just live for these moments. While I love snuggling babies, getting to do this kind of thing is awesome.







I think I will end this here since this is so long already! I need to do another post on apple picking and birthday weekend in Richmond. I can't believe it's birthday season. Our girl will be TWO on Sunday. Yikes!

Weight loss update.

I'm still stuck in a sling, but haven't done a weight loss update in awhile. I am officially down 17 pounds and a size or two, depending on the brand. I'm still losing, even though I've been prohibited from exercising for the last 5 weeks. It's slow, but steady progress and as long as the scale keeps moving, I am fine with slow. The time is going to pass anyway. And Susan has lost 18 pounds! We are putting a lot less strain on our mattress, ha.

I get asked a lot, "what are you doing? which program?" Often I get a perplexed look when I tell them no program. Just eating less, moving more and drinking more water. If I want pizza, I eat pizza. But maybe two slices instead of four. A donut instead of three. Trying not to drink calories (looking at you, Starbucks). Keeping 1200 calories a day in mind, but only as a guide. If I really want McDs for breakfast, I have it, but then I go light for lunch and dinner. That kind of thing.

There are a lot of popular programs out there right now and I know many of them are great with really good health benefits. For ME, I am not a program girl. For one, I don't have time. I know, people always say that. And you totally do make time for what's important. So, I guess it's not that important to me. I also need something that's sustainable. I could, but don't want to, participate in something that eliminates things from my world. I like eating. I like apple cider donuts in fall and ice cream in summer. I love pancakes. Fries? Please. I can't live in a world without fries. Well, I don't want to. I know I could do something like that or Weight Watchers or whatever for a time, but I wouldn't stick with it forever. So, I needed to just find a way to live and have fun, but just eat less. You know that e-card going around FB about being a runner because you like to eat ice cream? Yeah, that's me. Balance. Earning it. Enjoying life. Not making food the end all and be all every day. Some days we do great and eat really well and other days, well, we don't. And that's fine. Life is hard and sometimes you need pizza just to make it to the next damn day.

I ordered a dress for my sister's wedding and it came yesterday. It's a bit slinky and  I was worried. I tried it on and for once in a long time was pleased with my reflection. I didn't feel like I'd be the fat mom at the wedding. That was nice. I have 13 pounds to go to hit the goal. I think Christmas is my time frame. It had been this wedding, but the surgery set me back. I should be cleared to exercise next Friday and then will probably restart The Shred, with modifications for my shoulder. Still in a rehab phase for 12 weeks post op. I know I can do it.

still here!

DSC_0533, a photo by MelissaandSusan on Flickr.

We are still alive and well, but with use of only one arm, typing takes forever. Have lots of first to blog about - school, haircut, ballet - so hope to be back soon!

Zoo!

DSC_0020, a photo by MelissaandSusan on Flickr.

Susan actually had most of the weekend off, so we planned a family day at the zoo for yesterday. We've been a couple of times, but it's almost 2 hours away, so it's not like we go often. Even though it was hot (and we swear every time we will NEVER go again when it's hot!) we had a great time. The kids are in the stage of wanting to walk, but tiring quickly so we were smart and brought the big double stroller. I think Lucy actually did more walking than Theo!

We saw lots of neat animals and had fun together. Lucy liked the giraffes best, I think. Theo liked the geyser. That kid LOVES water. Loves it. It's 5 miles of walking and very hilly, so we were dirty, smelly and tired when we finally got home.

Susan and the kids are going to visit her parents for a few days the last week in August and then that's a wrap for our summer! School starts for the kids on Sept. 5th and then it's a runaway train until after Christmas. Happy almost end of summer!

Is it fall yet?

DSC_0165, a photo by MelissaandSusan on Flickr.

I kinda hate August (which is funny, because I love the name August and Lucy would have been named this were she a boy). I digress. Anyway, summer in the south sucks and once we hit August I just feel like we are weary and dragging ourselves across the summer finish line. It's like we can see fall, but one step outside and we are smacked in the face with the humid reminder that there's no need to pull out the jeans and sweatshirts. It's like living inside a dryer with damp towels.

If there is one thing that's crystal clear this year, it's that Theo thrives on preschool. He needs structure, a routine to our days, to see his friends, to play and to be somewhere that isn't with his parents for a few hours a week. When he's bored he turns from a cute imp into a one-step-away-from-homeless-imp. He and I butt heads more than he and Susan do and lately, I feel like all I do is correct him. I'm sick of it and I know he's sick of hearing it.

And Little Miss has been Captain Crankypants for days. It could be her remaining hold out teeth, or it could be that she is also just tired of the heat, humidity and summer. She's off to preschool this year too and I think she will love it, if she can get over her extreme shy-ness.

Today I packed them up and drove them 40 minutes to Durham to the museum. I didn't care that it would be hot, we just needed to do something different. And I needed to just walk behind them and keep them safe, but let them dictate their own fun. I get weary of being the cruise director. They had a great time, even though the train broke and we only stayed a little more than an hour. They ran, burned off energy and left me to just take some deep breaths and follow behind with a camera and some encouragement. Glorious. And even more glorious is that they are both asleep now. Cleaned up, down to skivvies and resting in a cool dark room does wonders for napping.

And I am free to sit on the couch, look for fall crafts on Pinterest and count the days until the dog days of summer are over.