Okay, they aren’t so much lies as they are omissions. Just a few things I’ve, ahem, forgotten to mention. Like that despite my official farewell to Coke five weeks ago, I have managed to ingest about 60 ounces of the stuff. And a few diet root beers, quite a lot of no-sugar-added hot cocoa and more animal cookies than I’d like to admit. The truth is out: high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, and enriched white flour are still sneaking into my diet somehow. On the bright side, I am consuming much smaller quantities than I used to. Which brings me to “the good.”
So far, I have managed to stay within my WeightWatchers Points every week. Those of you who’ve tried WeightWatchers know that is no small feat. Though I have to admit, it’s easier when you have the extra motivation of all of your friends and family knowing you are trying to lose weight. Just the thought of you silently judging me (you’re all too sweet to say anything out loud) for remaining slightly chubby and highly caffeinated in August is enough to make me at least get a bowl instead of scooping Ben and Jerry’s directly from the container.
In other happy news, my exercise program is going swimmingly. Not only have I been walking 30 minutes a day five days a week, but I actually enjoy it. No, that is not a typo, but you may want to ask me again in a couple of weeks when I start running instead of walking.
And now for the bad news. As I said, I’ve been walking on the weekdays, and I usually do it during Nicole’s morning nap. It works out great, except that her morning nap used to be the time I allotted for cleaning. I told myself I could always use the girls’ much coveted quiet time for making my home immaculate, but it turns out that by the time one o’clock rolls around I’m more inclined to sit on the couch and read than get out the vacuum.
But a dirty house is not my only problem. You may recall my lengthy explanation in Week 1 about why it is impossible for me to hop in my car and grab a coke from the store at a moment’s notice. While it is still difficult to get the kids ready to go, we do make it out a couple of times a week for various playdates and child-friendly activities. These outings are not problematic in that it would still be a lot of work for a single dose of caffeine--I’d have to get the girls out of their carseats, into the store, through the checkout line, and back in the car again. Or would I? It turns out, many establishments have coke machines outside and mere steps from parking spaces. One could, theoretically of course, park in said spot, vend a drink, and be back in the car before the kids could ask, “Why are we here?” Luckily for me, I think I possess the will power to not take advantage of this opportunity (twice), but I can see how it could become an unfortunate compulsion for somebody with less upstanding eating and drinking habits than my own. ;)
Since I spent a good amount of time describing Allie’s fitness routine last week, I think it’s only fair I do the same for Nicole. Let me start by saying that if you believe everything the doctors and baby books tell you, our nearly-six-month-old should have spent a good portion of the last few months playing delightedly on her tummy. This so called ‘tummy-time’ results in the development of key muscle groups which enable baby to roll over, sit unassisted, and eventually move on to more exciting things like crawling. And I know there are people out there who have successfully implemented tummy time. I know because I have listened to them prattle on about little so-and-so just loving his/her tummy time so much that they started rolling over by 2 months, crawling by 4 months and doing cartwheels or some other such nonsense by 6. Outwardly, I nod politely and commend them on their parenting prowess, but inwardly, I wonder if they are lying to me. Because the truth is, Nicole has never played delightedly on her tummy. In fact, she hasn’t even laid resignedly on her tummy. The only thing Nicole has done on her tummy is wail ferociously and spit up occasionally until somebody (usually me) takes pity on her and picks her up. There was a hazy incident about a month and a half ago where she rolled from her tummy to her back twice in a row, but as there has been no action remotely close to rolling since then, I’m apt to think I imagined the whole thing.
So Nicole’s fitness regime has no rolling or crawling, but what she lacks in prone conditioning is more than made up for in her upright work. Namely, her walker. She got it for Christmas from Santa, and her feet didn’t even touch the ground. Now, three months older and a couple of inches taller, Nicole careens around the house Flinstone style, her little feet moving double time as she squeals with joy at her own mobility. She wanders from the kitchen to the computer room. She parks in front of the dishwasher and stares at her reflection for ages (though this may be because she hasn’t yet mastered the art of turning around). She chases Allie, giggling all the while. Occasionally, she runs over our feet. My guess is that Nicole will walk before she crawls, but only time will tell.
But I digress. My apologies to any readers that are not remotely interested in my children--perhaps I will start a separate blog in which I can detail their lives to my heart’s content. For now I will leave you with just seven words: Skinny Cow Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream. [I can’t pretend it’s a wholesome good-for-you-food, but it’s delicious and only 150 calories. Certain sacrifices must be made.]
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