Wisdom Wednesdays: You're doing okay

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mothers Day on Sunday! I was so blessed to have spent the last week and a half with my family and mom in Dallas - here's a picture of our group celebrating the mamas (yep the plural would be me, my first Mothers Day)!



This year, obviously, the day is extra special. Jeff, Cooper and I were traveling on Sunday but people made a point to wish me a happy Mothers Day. Okay, at one point it was the flight attendant addressing the whole plane, but nonetheless I truly appreciated someone, even a complete stranger, recognizing me and others for being a mom. It's a rewarding title that takes on new meaning now that I actually AM one.  This past weekend I saw a commercial on TV that I just loved!  Did anyone see this Johnson’s commercial? Total tear-fest. If you missed it check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yotq4zr0dRc.

Totally hits home for me as a new mom of a little one. I think its pretty common, especially nowadays with all the books and resources available (hello pinterest), to feel inadequate.  There is always a new article or book telling you how to parent, the schedule to put your baby on, the pictures you should be capturing; there is constantly some piece of advice out there that you should be doing. I'm not sure its possible to have too much information out there, but whatever happened to intuition? It’s a little exhausting, because frankly, how can you measure up? You can’t, and inevitably, you feel like you fall short.

Sometimes you just need to hear out loud that you are doing a good job. With anything in life, all you can do is the best you can do, right? Whether it’s being a mom, a wife, a daughter, an employee…the list goes on and on. At the end of the day you are the ONLY person who has to look yourself in the mirror. Did you do the best you could that day? Did you do so with integrity? If so, cut yourself a break because I say, you’re doing okay. Sometimes it just feels so wonderful to hear it.

Happy Day!

 

Wisdom Wednesdays: Chocolate's Fortune Cookie

Long story short I love chocolate. Specifically, I like dark chocolate, and even more specifically, I like Dove dark chocolate, because each piece is like a fortune cookie, with a little advice (not winning lottery ticket numbers) on each wrapper. The other day while I was eating one three pieces, I got some interesting words of wisdom that I thought I’d share.

“Sleep late tomorrow.” <Scoff> I talked to Cooper about this and he spit milk in my face and told me “not for another 18 years.” Not going to happen.

“You should charge for advice.” Um, okay. I’ll start with my readers: I charge $5 per minute. Any takers? Clearly not going to happen.

But my last wrapper was so genius that I put in on my fridge next to a birth announcement. It was that special.

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” This goes back to what I believe everything comes back to: attitude. It got me thinking about those folks I know with incredible attitudes and outlooks on life, and one common trait among all of them is that they constantly focus on the good in life. Naturally, these people are happier individuals - content. They don’t have more happy things or less struggles in their life, they just choose to find joy in all things, and that in turn is contagious. People that seek the good in life naturally attract good things. I can tell you that I am definitely guilty of spending too much time focusing on the negative – maybe it’s the part of me that is always striving to be perfect better, but I do know that it's exhausting. This little chocolate nugget reminded me to flip the coin and find joy in all things.  Once you make “joy-seeking” a habit, I imagine that your cup truly will runneth over and leave you with one important feeling: gratitude.

I’m curious to know if you do anything to remind yourself to focus on the positive. What is it? I’d love to hear.

There is one thing I am for SURE celebrating lately, and he’s sitting in his bouncer right in front of me.

Who said chocolate only goes straight to your hips?

 

 

Our 2-Month Old

Coop was two months on Friday! How did we celebrate you ask? By traumatizing our sweet child with shots.

People tell you how bad the first round of shots are for the parents, but I could not have imagined just HOW bad it would be. Cooper had a great 2-month appointment, flirting with the nurse, kicking his legs - happy as a clam.
But then...BOOM! The ultimate betrayal! Our nice nurse told me that she needed to get a second nurse to help  administer the shots. "Okay," I said, unsure of why two nurses were needed for a human that was 40 days old and just shy of 12 pounds. In they both came and had me stand at his head and hold both of his arms. He was smiling and cooing, looking at me with those big brown eyes that said "I love you mom, and totally trust you!"  And then...it happened. Nurse 1 counted to three and at that both nurses stuck him at the same time in either leg, total shots = 5! He looked at me with a face full of betrayal, turned beet red, and than the screaming began.

All's well that ends well, and I know vaccinations are a necessary means to a healthy end. But in that moment as my eyes welled with tears, I wanted to take all his pain away from him and put it onto me; it hurt me so bad to see him hurt! It's amazing how much you can love a person - definitely unlike any other love that I've ever known. As he grows of course I know he will experience pain throughout his life, both physical and emotional, but I hope to the good Lord above that it will be minimal. My prayer for him is simple: Health and Happiness. And for now, as long as I stay away from the pediatricians office, I think this can be accomplished.

Happy Monday!

 

Getting rid of the "CW"

I have been horrible at updating this blog! I planned to update once a week and have been averaging once a month!

Speaking of commitments I never stick to, I got good news and bad news this week from my doctor. The good news, I’m cleared to exercise! The bad news…I’m cleared to exercise! All this means now is I have no excuse anymore. No excuse to complain about those extra lbs and no excuse NOT to go to they gym, those days are gone and that ship has sailed. And for that matter...I’m sick of carrying this extra Coop-weight, or “CW” as its called in my house. During my pregnancy I was fortunate to gain weight only in my middle, but now that means I still have a lingering pooch smack-dab in the middle instead of distributed all over. It’s unfortunate really, and I’m 90% sure people who don’t know me would think I’m newly pregnant. So I decided it is time for a plan, and I hit up google to find one. Operation: Eliminate CW! Here are some ground-rules I set for myself.

1. I get it; I just had a baby eight weeks ago. Don’t be too hard on myself and forgive myself IF I have an off day or week.


2. Don’t bite off more than I can chew. I always quit when I do that. Find a plan that is so do-able that it doesn’t feel overwhelming.


3. Work in the baby because he goes where I go. Find a plan that I can do with Cooper in tow.


4. No intense dieting. I find eating hard enough throughout the day so some fancy “eat this, not that” plan would be impossible to stick to.


5. Find a weekly plan. As I’m sure you’ve gathered…I need a plan! If I don’t have one I’m stressed and all over the place. Tell me what to do people.

There is tons of information out there and it was fun to read through all the different strategies and ideas. I found a plan that I think is perfect for me! Though it’s targeted for post-partum moms I also think it’s just a great get-back-out-there workout plan in general. It is a 12-week program gloriously coined “Lose the Baby Weight Challenge,” and each week has a plan for 1) exercise, 2) diet, and 3) attitude. I love the part on attitude because I think it is so important to be balanced both physically and emotionally, especially now that life has changed (for the better, but still, drastically changed) since Cooper has arrived. The plan also has “extra credit” each week, which I love. I’m always keeping score! I’m on Week 2, here’s the plan this week:

Week 2
Exercise: Get Moving – 1 hour of exercise (walking, class, video etc), 3 days a week.
Diet: 500-Calorie Dinners
Attitude: Count Your Blessings – Get Focused!

***Extra Credit: Add in one more hour of exercise this week.

[caption id="attachment_144" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Wash Park, Denver"][/caption]

So, wish me luck. I spent my first day on the job on a long walk up to Washington Park, around it, and back. I took a picture on my walk of the view, pretty remarkable. Total walk time 1 hour 15 minutes. I couldn’t think of a prettier time of year here in Denver to start my plan - blue skies and mid-60s. As I count my blessings this week, I am grateful for just that.

Here’s the link to the Challenge:

http://www.babyzone.com/mom/lose-the-baby-weight/lbw-overview_69837

Also, here’s a great link to 500 calorie dinners that I’ve been using:

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/diet_meal_plans/eatingwell_s_500_calorie_dinners

Have a great weekend!