My Little Jekyl & Hyde

Some days can be a challenge with a toddler. Unfortunately, you can't plan ahead of time because you don't know when those difficult days will strike in advance. Well, at least most of the time. As I get to know my two-year-old more and more, there are moments when I can easily predict we will have a tough day. 

For example, I thought this past Thursday might be tough because my parents were leaving that morning after a week long visit. I was right. However, I had no idea how hard of a day it would be. It was a day in which my sweet daughter, Ginny, thought it was funny whenever I said, "No!" She would have tantrums when I removed objects from her or moved her away from her sister who was happily rolling on the floor. I was in misery. I expected it, but it didn't make the day any easier. She missed the love and attention she had received from her grandparents, but was unable to express it so she acted out.

The next day, Ginny was an absolute angel. She was helpful. She listened. When I said, "No!", she didn't challenge me. She accepted it and moved on. She was kind and gentle with her baby sister, Grace, and the dog, Daisy. She and I were able to play and have fun. We read books, tickled each other, played with toys, and laughed. It was a good day.

In the last 24-hours she has transformed back to the little imp, a little hellion. She is back to not listening very well and throwing tantrums. It is a milder form of her behavior on Thursday. I am thankful for at least that much. But the day has not been without its trials. While she adores Grace, Ginny doesn't understand that loving her doesn't mean smothering her, literally. I keep repeating the phrase, "Get off of your sister." She doesn't stop. This morning I needed to remove Grace's roly poly self for her own protection. Ginny kept trying to lay on her or sit on her. You might think my picking up Grace would solve the problem. Oh no, it did not. Instead, Ginny tried to climb on her sister while she was in my lap. 

In the midst of the art fair, Grace fell asleep & Ginny started
to complain she was stuck.

I was grateful that I had decided earlier in the week that we would go to the Springfield Farmer's Market downtown this morning. After fighting Ginny most of the morning, I looked forward to getting out and about. Basically, removing my daughter from the temptation to misbehave and me from getting high blood pressure and a headache. 

It was a pleasant morning at the market. Admittedly, we got there a bit late, close to 10:30 a.m. I needed a lazy morning and waited to go after Grace's nap. The next time we go, it won't be so late because many of the stalls were already quite empty if not sold out. I figured there would be more goods since the market is open until 12:30 p.m. Obviously, I was wrong.  I hoped to find some fresh produce that I could get for making baby food for Grace. It is early in the season, and there wasn't much out there beyond some lettuce, rhubarb, and green onion. Oh, there was also asparagus, but I ignored it. I hate it and won't bring it into my home. I did happen upon a stand selling fresh pecans which made me quite happy. Fresh pecans are wonderful! So much better than what you find at the store. I guess I will now be forced to bake a pecan pie. 

As we were walking along, I discovered that downtown Springfield was also hosting an art fair. I love art fairs! I enjoy looking at art and imagine buying some of it. So, I pushed the girls in the stroller through the art fair as well. About an hour passed and Ginny was getting frustrated. She was done and let me know about it, saying "I stuck." We headed for the car and then home to eat lunch.

Now, the house is calm again. Ginny isn't having a tantrum and is listening quite well. What made the difference? She is taking her nap right now. I am in heaven and enjoying the silence. 

Setting Goals

Ginny in her sunglasses saying "walk, walk!"

Last night, I dreamt that when I woke up I was thin. No, not just thin, but skinny and looking good. I couldn't believe it and kept looking at my waist line to make sure it was real. I felt a bit of a thrill. Then, I woke up. It was just a dream. Unfortunately, this dream did not come true upon waking. I was my usual fat self. Not what I was hoping for in the least.

Once I woke and thought about my dream, it reminded me that I want to get in shape and, hopefully, lose some weight. I don't believe in dieting. I believe in exercise. In the past, when I have lost weight, I did it mainly through exercise. My eating did change, as well, because my body craved healthier foods when it was getting healthy and in shape. I would naturally start drinking more water, and ate less junk and more healthy food. The hard part is just getting started and in that exercise habit again.

I want to get in better shape for a few of reasons.

•  I'm tired of looking in the mirror and seeing my fat self. I hate my double chin. I want it gone! Even if I don't get thin, at least I will look better in general if my body is in good shape. 
• After 2 full-term pregnancies, my back is pretty weak. My whole body is weaker in many ways. I want to feel strong.
• Chris and I haven't decided whether or not we are going to try for a third child. We won't make that decision for a few more months. If we decide to go for it, I want to weigh a bit less and be stronger, especially in my abs and back, so that I will hopefully have one less risk factor to face. Being over 40 is tough enough, but being obese, out of shape and over 40 will be hell on my body and psyche. 
• If we don't try to have another child, then hopefully I can be in good shape and weighing less before menopause begins. 

Now I am setting goals for myself. I am not a believer in being obsessed by numbers like weight or size, although sometimes it is hard not to be. Instead, I am focusing on a different type of number, a different kind of goal. Fitness goals. 

To get in shape, I plan on walking around my neighborhood or at a local park every other day while pushing the double stroller carrying my girls. I want to go on as many 5Ks as I can handle in the next few months. I did my first one in four years this past Saturday, the Fat Ass 5K in Springfield. I was unable to finish it. However, I did complete one lap plus went a bit further, doing about 2 miles. 

Grace was content the whole walk.

I'm quite proud of myself. I'm also using that 2 miles as my baseline. Two miles is where I started. I need to surpass that the next time. My next 5K is coming up on June 8, the Color Blaze 5K. It is a hillier course. I want to complete it, but as long as I do more than 2 miles, I will have achieved something. 

This morning I restarted my training for the next 5K. I pushed my daughters in the stroller for a mile long walk this morning. Luckily, the baby doesn't mind going for a walk, and my toddler LOVES going for walks. In fact, as I paused to take a couple of pictures this morning, my two-year-old got annoyed with me. She wanted to keep going and kept chanting "walk, walk" until I started up again. Then, she had a huge grin on her face for the rest of the walk. 

I hope to increase my distance and speed in time. I just need to push myself. I know I can achieve my goals! So, on Saturday, don't be surprised if you see me pushing the stroller again as I continue to work toward those goals.

The Perfect Mother's Day

The view from our seats!

Today I had the most fabulous Mother's Day ever because I spent it watching baseball. As I have mentioned before, I love and adore baseball! I just plain love the sport. My favorite professional team is the St. Louis Cardinals. I fell in love with the Cardinals soon after my family moved to St. Louis in 1981.  Then, the 1982 season completely hooked me, particularly after our World Series win.

Wearing the giveaway, a floppy sun hat, and Grace!

Getting to go to a game, to me, is a gift! I've never been a big fan of watching sports on T.V. or listening to them on the radio. I'll do it, but I'd much rather be at the game. My husband, who is a Brewers' fan, and I generally try to go to at least one or two games a season. Last year, we went to none. Ginny was only one-year-old at the time and we couldn't see her having the patience for staying for a whole game. We were looking forward to this season and looking for opportunities to see a game when one arose.

My handsome husband with our baby girl, Grace. Notice
his Brewers jersey at a Cardinals game. Sigh.

My parents moved to northern Florida nearly 17 years ago. They are also Cardinals fans; Mom having been one for the last 55+ years. Since moving to Florida, they have not had any opportunities to see the Cardinals in a live season game (they have gone to a couple of Spring Training games). Every time they have come up to visit my DH and me in the last 3 1/2 years, the Cardinals have either been out of town for a game or they have come outside of baseball season.  This year, my parents decided to arrange a visit to see their granddaughters (I'm just a bonus, not the prime reason they visit. Ha ha.) around the baseball schedule. They were very sweet and tried to set up the visit so we could go to a Cardinals/Brewers game. Unfortunately, my husband has to work over those games so that wasn't possible. Instead, they came up a week earlier for the Mother's Day game we went to today.

My super mom and I enjoyed our day!

It couldn't have worked out better! I couldn't imagine a better way to spend Mother's Day than at a baseball game with my family! I was there not only with my girls but also my mom. How perfect is that? When buying the tickets, I had a coupon code that got me 50% off the price of tickets. I took advantage of that situation and used it to buy tickets behind home plate. The game would have been more perfect had the Cardinals won the game against the Colorado Rockies. We lost though, 8-2. Otherwise, the day was fabulous! The sun was shining, and the temps were comfortable to start. Our seats were perfect! I couldn't have asked for much better. The only issue was that the breeze was decidedly cool and by the end of the game, we were all feeling the chill. Had we been in the sun, I think we would have remained warm and finished the game. As it was, we were cool, and the girls were chilled so we left during the 8th inning. I noticed as we drove away from the stadium that the shaded parts of the stadium were practically empty while the parts of the stadium in the sun were still fairly full.

Ginny had so much fun!

My parents were freezing. True Floridians. LOL!

One thing I especially enjoyed was watching Ginny during the game. She danced whenever music came on. She clapped with the crowd. She even learned how to yell out "Charge" in all the right places. She had a blast!


All in all, I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Maybe I'll have to make going to a baseball game a new Mother's Day tradition. Sounds like a fabulous idea to me! :)