Riley's Birthday Celebration: Part 2

You can read more about part one of Riley's birthday celebration here.

After Riley's nap time (or lack of nap time) we met up with a friend of mine, Josie, and her 3.5 year old and 9 month old daughters, Olivia and Ellie. Josie's house was going to be filled with a bunch of her step-son's friends for a slumber party so she decided to take the girls to a hotel for the night. Riley and I decided to join her and chose The Depot which has a water park and an indoor ice rink. Riley was quite excited about the water park, although I'm not entirely sure why since she's not a fan of these places.

Shortly after arriving we headed to the buffet with a plan to go to the water park afterwards. Pizza was originally suggested, but we decided it would be better to eat at the buffet in the restaurant as there would probably be more healthy options and it might be less expensive. Turns out that wasn't the case. At least the healthy part. No fruit, no vegetables (unless you count coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, and french fries). Essentially, you could choose from fried chicken, hot dogs, hamburger, ribs, or overly breaded fish sticks. Thankfully, I brought a veggie pack for Riley to eat and I ate a banana once I got back to the room. I felt gross.

Once dinner was done we dashed off to the water park. Like I said, Riley isn't a fan of these places so I was surprised at how much she was willing to do. Sure, she still was pretty timid and freaked out by some things, but she really seemed to have fun.

Riley usually goes to bed at 7:30, but Olivia doesn't go to bed until about 10:00. Since we were all in the same room I knew Riley would be staying up late. I was worried how this would turn out, especially since she didn't take a nap, but just went with it and hoped for the best. We spent the rest of the night after the water park watching cartoons (and eating more food - Josie was still hungry and I decided I needed a salad). 

These beds were super comfy.

Wearing our party hats, of course. 

We went to bed shortly before 10 pm and all seemed to go well. That is, until Riley woke up screaming just after midnight. I think it was a combination of a bad dream and waking up in an unknown place. She occasionally has these middle of the night freak outs and has since she was a baby (night terrors?). Olivia and Ellie slept right through it somehow... and Josie took a break from her snoring. Josie's kids obviously are better sleepers than mine (except for that going to bed late thing). Nothing seemed to calm Riley down until I pulled out the Nuk - which if you read part one you will have noted we just stopped giving her. Sigh.

We went back to sleep only for Riley to wake up at 5:45 and tell me she was hungry. Umm, no. Go back to sleep kid. And, thankfully she did. We finally woke at 8 am for the day. Again, we ate at the buffet (it was included in the room charge) and at least they had fruit so I felt a little better about it.

Since Ellie needed to go down for a nap. (Seriously, this 9 month old slept from 10 pm to 8 am and did not wake up once. She barely made a peep the entire time we were there and was just sooo sweet. I can't even imagine what that would be like since Riley was the complete opposite of the "quiet, sleep peacefully" child.) I took Olivia and Riley down to the water park by myself which sort of freaked me out since Olivia is a lot more daring than Riley. I set some rules on the way there and, for the most part, they followed them. However, this time was much more of what I expected out of my child - she wanted to sit on the side of the pool with only her feet in the water. At least she had fun running around the night before.

Olivia was trying to get Riley into the pool, but Riley wasn't having it. Please note that Olivia is soaking wet while my kid is pretty much dry.

Since Riley wasn't having much fun and it was chilly in the water park (seriously, turn up the heat) we headed back upstairs. Check out was at noon and the weather was nasty outside so we decided it was time to wrap things up.

The girls checking out the snow while they wait to leave. 

Jesse picked Riley and I up and we had a slow and slippery ride home. After lunch, a nap, and some indoor play time we decided to go outside to play in the snow. Riley didn't want to go outside at first, but I promised her we'd make a snowman and that she'd get to shovel with her dad.

Creepy snowman.

She had a blast having a snowball fight with us and has terrific aim.

Riley went to sleep right at her normal bedtime without the Nuk and without a peep! It seemed to be the perfect ending to this weekend... until she woke up crying at 11:30 and I woke up with one of the worst headaches I've had in a long time. Luckily Jesse went into care for Riley as I quickly noticed that I had bigger issues than just a migraine. Between digestive issues, puking, and not being able to lay down (it seemed to make my headache worse) I was up for the next several hours sitting on the floor of our very small bathroom. I'm guessing I ate something bad (since no one else got sick I ruled out that I picked up something nasty at the water park) and ended up staying home on Monday to sleep and recover. Besides getting sick it was a fantastic weekend.

Overall, I'm pretty sure Riley enjoyed her birthday and even though we did a lot I found it to be much easier than the party I threw last year. A lot of work and stress clearly does not equate to more fun.

Riley's Birthday Celebration: Part 1

For a birthday that was supposed to be laid back we filled it with a lot of activities - so I will break this up into two posts. Welcome to part one.

We planned on a mellow birthday celebration for Riley's 3rd birthday this year. We had parties for her 1st birthday and 2nd birthday and I didn't want to do that again this year. I knew she'd have her music class in the morning, which she loves, so I figured that would be at least one fun thing we would do, but I wasn't sure what else to do. Of course, she'd have to see her grandparents, but I didn't know what that would look like.

As we were talking with her about her upcoming birthday she noted that she wanted party hats, purple party bags, and a horse for her special day. Where does she get this stuff? It's not like she's gone to many birthday parties, but she does have an excellent memory so who knows. So I decided that after music class we would invite grandma Suzie, grandpa Michael, and papa Frank over for a small celebration. And of course, I was prepared with her requested items.

Unfortunately, the first surprise of the day was not a good one. I opened the shower curtain to find that the tub had backed up. Seeing I have lived off and on in this house for a long time it wasn't the first time I had experienced this. I was hoping it was one of those easy to fix moments, but when I turned on the water to rinse out the dirty backup it started to fill up. Ok, this wouldn't be so easy. Jesse grabbed the plunger and got to work and eventually a huge mass of hair came up, but the water still wasn't going down. Great. I called my dad and asked him to bring over his plumbing snake as I knew we would need something a little more heavy duty to tackle this issue ( I have one, but it's a piece of crap). I then hesitantly took a shower upstairs knowing that it would probably back up into the main floor tub. And it did, but at least it didn't overflow.

Once I was ready, grandma Suzie and grandpa Michael showed up as they were coming to Riley's music class with us. Grandma and I participated with Riley in the class while grandpa and Jesse sat on a couch in the back. Miss Emily, the music instructor, was nice enough to let Riley pick one of her favorite music class activities (dancing with scarves) and she had everyone sing happy birthday to Riley. As usual, Riley had a blast.

Back at home, my dad showed up and the guys headed to the basement to clean out the pipes under the tub while the ladies hung out upstairs having a photo shoot with Riley.

I am so incredibly grateful that we can call my dad for assistance with these things. I know we could fix it on our own (or get help from other family members or call a plumber), but it's nice to know that he's always there. Often when we think we just can't do anymore to fix something he pushes us to try and try again. And in the end he's usually right and we're able to resolve the issue. A big thank you to Jesse and Michael for also helping to fix this!

Riley isn't much of a girly girl, but when I gave her a couple options of what to wear she totally wanted to wear this tutu like skirt. She told me it was like a 'princess'. She also insisted on keeping her name tag sticker on from music class... just in case we forgot who she was apparently.

After the plumbing was fixed (let's just say I'm pretty sure the plug was building up long before we moved in because there was a ridiculous amount of hair pulled out of the pipes. Gag.), we started our 'celebration'. I guess you could call it a party - at least to Riley I'm sure it felt like one - but since there was minimal preparation and guests it didn't really feel like one. I bought all the decorations (instead of making them), although I did fancy up her party hat instead of buying a special fancy one (too spendy). It didn't matter in the end because she wanted to change party hats hourly. In fact we've been wearing party hats daily since her birthday. If anyone were to look in our windows they'd think we all lost it as we wander around doing our normal daily activities in our party hats.

Grandma was a good sport and wore some of Riley's barrettes and jewelry.

I whipped up this red bean and sausage stew. It's the same one I made in my freezer meal post and was a hit with our guests... except Riley who won't eat foods like this. She loves rice and loves sausage separately, but not in this form. Oh well, cheese and tortilla make a tasty lunch too, I suppose.

Love that everyone wore party hats the entire time. Notice Riley has a different color hat in many of these picture.

Jesse will probably dislike that I posted this pictures, but I couldn't help but include it. He was trying to show his mom how to focus our camera so she could take a family picture of us. (Although, it might not have mattered because I feel like something is wrong with the focus on this camera anyway.) Anyhoo, I totally think he should update his Facebook profile picture with this one. 

Silly faces!

After lunch (which included some interesting stories about pigs blood draining and animals eating the food out of other animals crap - thanks dad!) we opened presents, then ate cake and finally handed out purple party bags with treats to our guests. As you can see grandma and grandpa are trying on their new teeth.

Giving nose kisses.

After saying goodbye to her grandparents, Riley went down for a nap. Or, she was supposed to. She was awake the entire time she was in her bedroom. I think part of it was from the excitement of the day, but Jesse decided this was the day we were getting rid of the Nuk. We have been preparing her for this, but I thought it would be after her birthday - not on. Even so, I think she was too wound up to sleep whether she had the nuk or not.

Plus, we had plans to go to the water park and who can sleep when you know that? You'll get to read more about that in part two.

Happy 3rd Birthday Riley!

Dear Riley,

Wow, what a difference 2 and 3 make. I know you have been 2 years old this entire past year, but so much has changed from your birthday last year: your language skills, your confidence, your ability to follow directions (when you want to). It is amazing to see you develop. You are like a little sponge - just taking everything in.

You are starting to say more and more things accurately which I am a little sad to see. Of course, I want your language skills to develop, but I love how you used to call an elephant "empaty" and how when you want someone to sit next to you you will say "sit for me". So demanding! Or when you want to be carried you ask if you can "carry you". By the way, you are getting a little big for that one... but I will miss that too.

Your love of food has narrowed. What happened? You used to love eating vegetables and now it seems to be an ongoing struggle. I feel like we have fallen into only offering you a few items because we know that you will eat it. This, we need to stop. You love tortilla's or "tor-ti-RA's" as you call them, and rice most of all. A carb girl, I see. I have that problem too these days.

Speaking of food, you even have your first chore of feeding the cat. Of course, you only do so when it pleases you, but when you are amenable to it you do it with gusto. You also love to help me cook and whenever you think I am cooking without you I hear you start yelling "chair, I want a chair!" so you can assist me at the kitchen counter.

You are still so spirited which sometimes baffles me since your dad and I are so mellow, but other times I see a timidness in you that reminds me you are my little girl. I love the cuddles I get during these times, but I want to make sure that you feel confident enough to try new things. I don't want that timidness to hold you back.

You sure love your grandparents and light up when they are around. In fact, you are generally happy around all people and although sometimes you are shy, other times you talk non stop. You seem to love daycare which comforts me since you spend so much time there. I love when I drop you off on Tuesdays and all the kids there yell out your name in excitement.

You are still blonder than blond and look so much like your daddy, but you do have my body and sometimes... sometimes I can see a touch of my nose in you. As far as that body? Be grateful for it, but know that you might struggle finding shirts that are long enough and pants that will stay up. Oh wait, we already struggle with this for you. Trust me when I say I know your pain, girl.

You still love the alphabet, singing, the outdoors, books, and to my chagrin... TV. You are in music class again this year and have embraced it even more than last year. I love how your face lights up while we are there. You love to play and you've gotten more and more into imaginative play. Just last week we went to the lake, the grocery store and the crocodile store in a matter of 10 minutes and all without leaving the house.

You are such a goof and love to do funny things like 'silly face'. You probably get that more from your daddy than me. It's one of the things I love about him and certainly love about you. Your silly face cracks me up every time.

It's been a pretty amazing year. I can't wait to see what the next year brings. And anytime you want to go to the crocodile store? I'm there.

Love you with all my heart,

Mommy

Fitness and Health: The Background

I've always been on the thin side. I recognize I am lucky like that. I've never really had to worry about weight, but there came a time when I started to worry about fitness and then my health. And I didn't really know how to move forward with that.

No one worked out in my family when I was young. They worked. They mowed the lawn, cut wood and hauled it into the house, they cleaned... they were often moving. We generally ate well balanced meals (protein, carbs, veggies), but no one taught me to cook or talked about the importance of eating a balanced meal.

So when I was 24 and noticed that I put on an extra 5 pounds I started thinking I should probably do something about it. I know - it was only 5 pounds, but I realized it had been a few pounds a year for several years. I was still skinny. I was still referred to as 'toothpick' from time to time, but I started thinking that I needed to take care of myself better. I started to think that if I kept blowing off the idea that a few pounds a year wasn't a big deal, I would find myself 10 years down the line in a spot I didn't like. I needed to be more mindful of my body. I just didn't know exactly what to do or how hard I really wanted to work at it.

My nephew and I celebrating our b-days. My 24th, his 23rd.  PS. I am so hungover here.

I was a runner when I was in grade school and junior high. In fact, I reluctantly joined the track team in 7th grade and, apparently to revolt, I only ran baton races (and earned the cheesy nickname "baton beauty"). So at age 24 I looked back at those running days and thought "I'll start running again". Ha! A lot changes in your body over 10 years and I found myself struggling to run around the block. So I picked up some hand weights and a jump rope and started slow. I wasn't as devoted as I would have liked to have been, but I was doing something. Sometimes.

Over the next few years I found myself going back and forth between working out (always at home) and putting exercise to the side. I started to cook a little bit more, but my range of recipes was quite limited. I attempted to eat more veggies which I always liked, but they became low priority once out on my own. And I should probably apologize to my former room mates when I decided to eat veggies like no tomorrow. Let's just say there is a thing as too much vegetables and you don't want to be in the same room when that happens.

Many of my friends were like me. I had friends who signed up for gym memberships, went once, and then never went again. I started dating a guy who was also thin, but was active for his job at the time. Once he quit that job, all the dinners out and accompanying beers caught up to him and to me. For the first time in my life I was eating my entire meal and adding additional calories with multiple drinks.

So, I stepped back to my old eating habits: 

1. Eat until I wasn't hungry anymore. Not full, just not craving anymore food. 
2. Eat slow and deliberately. Slowing down allows our stomach and brain to get in the same spot. Ever eat so fast before you know it you feel stuffed? Plus it was better on my wacky digestive system. 
3. Eat many times a day. Typically, this would be three meals and a couple snacks, but could vary.
4. Eat good for me food, but don't deprive myself from eating the not so healthy stuff.

I continued to make some sort of an effort to take better care of myself, but I have to admit it was hard when I was in a relationship with someone who didn't have health as a priority. For a variety of reasons our relationship came to an end and as it did my health efforts stepped up. Ok, so it really started at the very end of our relationship when I found myself going for long walks every evening just so I could be alone. But those walks continued and I cut out beer and soda (I lost 5 pounds fast once I got rid of pop). I joined a small gym and continued to feel better. It wasn't about losing any weight at this point (in fact I needed to gain some after losing 6 pounds in one day - thank you horrific stomach flu). It was about feeling good. It was about having some strength. Plus, I had some other health issues (such as back problems) and I knew that I needed to make my body stronger and more limber for that.

About a year after my relationship ended I met a new guy - my now husband, Jesse. Turns out he used to be a personal trainer and health was very much a priority to him. He worked out, he ate well, and he didn't drink much. We eventually joined a gym together and over time belonged to a couple smaller gyms that we could walk to from our home. He offered helpful advice and made sure my technique was spot on, but never really acted like a trainer. And I appreciated that. He was also just the motivation I needed to stay on track. 

When we moved just over 4 years ago we cancelled our gym membership and planned to find something new near our new house once all settled down. We were remodeling, and then getting married, and then I got pregnant and had issues that forbid me from working out for at least half of my pregnancy. The other half? I just didn't have it in me. 

Then we had a colicky kid. Then we were working full time with a baby... and then toddler. And then one day we both woke up and just couldn't take it anymore. I had been telling myself that I was getting a workout chasing after a kid. Right? Ugh, but I didn't feel that way. I felt weak. I felt like my muscles were starting to atrophy. Gah! We needed to do something about this. Stat! It had been almost 4 years since I belonged to a gym and even though I took walks and was semi active, it just wasn't enough. 

My husband acted first by heading over to the 'big' gym by his work and signing up. It was spendy, but it was close to his work and our home and it provided child care. I was hesitant to join the big gym (I'm cheap, what can I say - and might have been intimidated), but I knew something needed to be done. I sit in a cubicle all day - my options for movement for a big part of my day is limited.

So we started working out and it's going well! I even asked my husband to create a workout schedule for me which I will share in a future post. Yes, there are so many bonuses to being married to Jesse and this is one of them. And my health? It's not only important for me to address these issues and care for them, but to pass on healthy living skills to my kid so she can carry them forward for herself and her children.