Virgin Diet update

11 pounds in 6.5 weeks! It's going so well! : )

Tuesday is last day of 7 weeks of V-Diet. I plan to continue it as I have 9 more pounds to reach my Oct. 8 goal (5 weeks) which is also what I weighed before I got pregnant with Julia. Currently I'm 2 pounds away from what I weighed before I got pregnant with Jacqueline!

It will be close, but I'll be happy regardless. My eventual goal is another 5-10 pounds after the initial 20 so that I'll be in top range of my suggested BMI. Honestly I think if I lose any more I'll look anorexic.

Even if I don't get to the exact number by 10/8, I will start again after my (used to be annual) "Sister Trip" during Fall Break (October) to see Susie in Phoenix. She is doing VD too & eats vegetarian (vegan sometimes too) so I know we'll eat healthy; hopefully play some much needed tennis. We didn't get to play tennis like usual during her summer visit to Nashville because of S's foot injury.

Counting calories is making the difference - overall I'm eating less. Exercise is important too, but food intake is my nemesis. Also being gluten free is a good part of plan. Adding the other 3 foods independently in last 4 weeks was not too revolutionary. My body doesn't react to soy, dairy, egg in major ways. Eating gluten has been telling, especially wheat. Ezekiel bread or spelt are OK for me to eat, but wheat is not!

I look forward to being at maintenance point too. : )

Additional Note:
A friend asked how Jai was doing. Good question, didn't mean to exclude his progress. : )
Jai is doing pretty well.  Strangely he hasn't lost as much weight as I expect (men usually lose faster). He's lost 9 pounds ... I think he has about 35 more.  He stays up later than me & snacks. He's doing better after he gained 2 pounds 1 week & then he started logging/counting calories the next week.

National Wear Your College Colors Day

My colleague/co-school counselor & I promoted this day in conjunction with our district's college & career readiness initiative. We communicated with our school staff to wear their college shirts; many did.

I wore 1 of my Wellesley t-shirts with pride & excitement.

Of course I have 4-5 Wellesley shirts - my favorite is one I cannot wear at work sadly.
Wellesley Wisdom is on the front.
On the back is a quote from Madeline Albright '59 at reunion (not sure which one in last 10 years).
"There is a special place in hell for women who do not help other women."

I save that one for more appropriate opportunities to display my politics & feminism. : )

Cute is as cute does

This morning I told Julia to put on her backpack so we could leave. Immediately Jacqueline pushed past me going away from the door. I followed asking where she was going but she gave me no response, walked right over to her little backpack, pulled it off the chair, went to the door and while trying to put it over her shoulder said backpack, or maybe bye bye; its hard to tell. 

Cute is as cute does when Jacqueline tries to copy Julia. 

I will not be the one teaching Julia to drive

Today's homework assignment is pretty simple ... yet I found myself getting more frustrated as Julia didn't write her name clearly & correctly on those darn lines of primary writing tablet paper. Yikes! We switched kids after Jai changed Jacqueline into PJs & I got her to sleep. As I watched Jai & Julia working together, it was a much different picture of calm & patience. Thank goodness! : )

Goodwill greatness!

AHHH! I really am mad at myself for being so tardy on posts sometimes. It's the cycle of my life. I'll get on something & obsess, catch up on posts, for example, and neglect some other area, like working on Julia's birthday party plans, which is one reason I got up early on Sunday morning!

Here goes a quick synopsis of why Goodwill is great.
1. Sundays & Wednesdays are 99 cents day - items (clothes mainly) with the assigned color tags for that week are only $1 (basically) AND there's no tax!!! Don't shop any other day
2. However, if you do, because you might need something & another day is better shopping opportunity for you, you're still going to be a winner. Occasionally I've shopped on a non SU or W. My basic rule is stick to the color tag for that week as it's 50% off so instead of paying the tag price of $2-5 (most items are not more, even shoes), it is discounted 50%. Sweet!
3. Rarely, but it has happened, I'll be honest, I have paid the tag price. Yes, don't fall out of your chair that Tara paid "full price" ... at Goodwill. : ) I don't like to do it, but I feel less guilt since it is used items & I'm not paying retail prices.

I love that it's like recycling. Clothes swaps are really my favorite since that's just FREE stuff. I don't find as much success usually, depends on who is there, what they bring & really the real truth is, what size I am.
I'm not always successful at finding items at Goodwill, but usually I find something I want or need.  I used to have a rule (that I used to follow more faithfully) when I brought something into my house, I had to get rid of something else so I donate to Goodwill too & it comes full circle.

SO come on, go to your local Goodwill & get your cheap shop on. Your wallet thanks you! : )

Reading saves money

I'm pretty much a failed handyman but it probably has more to do with my inability to finish what I start but yesterday I proved to myself, my wife, and my neighbors that reading is fundamental.

Last year the front axle on my gas mower broke. My immediate response was I'll never fix *that*. So we bought a $40 mower off craigslist. It lasted until 2 weeks ago and it became evident that repairs would cost lots more than the mower so I decided to look at the broken axle. All I needed was a diagram of the parts and ironically, ~$40. One part, some turns of a ratchet and BOOM! My mower is working again.

First Day of Kindergarten

Awesome day!

"May I have a piece of corn on cob?"

Question asked by 4 year old granddaughter of her grandmother as she unpacked her CSA box. That day Bonnie received 4 ears of corn.

"No."   ... no hesitation ... Really?! WOW!

You cannot share 1 ear of corn with a child ... your grandchild?!?!
Especially after I explained that we got NO corn in CSA box last week!

"Too bad."

Another WOW! Interesting what fresh corn on the cob will make someone say.

Sales, OCD & SSA

This leads to the Perfect Storm for Obsessiveness. OMG!

Julia is going to K ... so the other day I realized I don't think she has enough SSA. Thanks to generous friends, we had items that worked when she attended Pre-school Encore class once a week at Robertson Academy.  I wasn't sure what still fit plus if it is the right season. I knew we had a ton of white tops with stains. However, she will be going to school EVERY day - 5 days each week. That set Tara in motion to get some stuff pronto!

You know I don't like to spend a lot of money. Sunday [99 cents day] I went to Goodwill & found a few shorts, only 1 top. Yikes! Worst case scenario I still have the many stained white shirts.  I also emailed all my friends for ideas though some suggestions were more than I wanted to spend. I went to my favorite consignment sale on Tuesday for the new mom pre-sale with my new mom friend. THANK YOU! There was a ton of great stuff for nothing! I didn't pay more than $4-5 for an item - my total was $43 and I got a few pants, mostly tops, sweaters, tons of hangers.

Wednesday I went to Dan Mills PTO sponsored clothes swap. Even though Julia is going to Inglewood, I donated $5 to PTO & picked up a few more items, including a cute red dress. I also met some nice people. What an awesome idea too! It got me thinking about working on a collaborative community/school organized clothes swap for East Nashville schools - ES, MS, HS. Everyone needs clothes, let's share.

Thursday I got some more clothes from 2 friends, including some more white tops (no one wants to keep those!). I need to get some RIT dye and take care of that stain nightmare!

Friday [today] I went to the 1/2 price sale & spent another $30 - got a few more SSA items (so glad I went on TU as very little was left), some more hangers, shoes, some fun clothes for Julia to wear after school/weekends.

My OCD continues as I've hung every shirt, pants, shorts, dresses, leggings on those many hangers I bought for $1 [for 10]. This way Julia can see her options & select what she wants to wear each day [pick it out the night before of course!].

Perfect storm, right? : )

Royal Baby Prince

What a lovely family they are! What a sweet sight it was when Kate & William presented baby George outside the London hospital. They seemed so comfortable & personable as they waved to onlookers & then answered some reporters' questions. Kate looked amazing considering she'd given birth the day before - still looked pregnant like most women postpartum, so real. They also looked cute in their matching blue dress (her) & shirt (him). I actually like the name George for the baby prince, too.

Like mother like daughter

We had a woman clean our house today and she did some straightening. We (Julia, Jacqueline and I) went to storytime. When we got back Julia made a beeline to her room when we got home and yelled down :

"Misty (not her real name),  "where are my cards?"
Misty said "They are in the drawer next to your bed. I needed to move them while I was cleaning."
Julia responded in kind of a mutter, "Oh, that's not where they go.  I don't put them there."

I commented that Julia has very flexible but particular places to put things. Sort of like her mother. Misty closed the conversation with "I noticed. I asked Tara if she wanted me to do any organizing and she said no, she'd take care of that."

Yes, I have am in the house with Tara, mini-Tara and minier-Tara (maybe).

Today's Julia moment

Julia is wearing that 1/2 sweater "shrug" top over her dress.
"I can wear this to jam."

Apparently this is the result of too much watching of "Pitch Perfect" which I got from NPL.
We watched a part every day, I don't think Julia ever watched the entire movie.
However, she remembers certain things with amazing accuracy. She constantly references Lily's quiet talking ... pseudo talking & we cannot hear her ... she whispers "like Lily."

Reminds me of 1 of our favorite lines ["our" being Jai & I]:
"Uh, not a good enough reasons to use the word penetrate."
Hilarious! Love Rebel Wilson in PP - so funny!

Tetanus shot 2013

Ouch! That shot hurt!

Today I went to MNPS clinic for my annual well woman check & the nurse asked me about tetanus. There was anything in my record with date of last shot. I know I had to get 1 before working for MNPS in 2000. Best practice is to get the shot every 10 years. I think I had 1 in past 13 years, but not sure if before or after Julia was born, definitely note in 2 years since I got pregnant with Jacqueline.

Since I work with children & have children, I thought let's do it. I'd rather be safe. Ironically Julia asked me if I would get a shot (Jacqueline always gets 1, Julia sometimes does when we go to clinic) at my appointment. I nonchalantly said "no, not me, I'm an adult, I don't get shots any more."

Ha! Yes I did! : )

215

7/18/13 today Julia knows 215 sight words

5/17/13 she knew 176 words

3/1/13 she knew 101 words

2/1/13 she knew 67 words
1/23/13 she knew 51 words

MNPS list has 220 most commonly used words in reading.
Goal is for students to know all 220 by end of 2nd grade.
Julia starts Kindergarten in 2 weeks!

Wednesday quotes

"Not something that concerns you."
Excuse me? What?
Again excuse me - where did that come from?

Instead of staying at table while we finish eating dinner, Julia wanders around dining room table/area.
She picks up box of sight words, talking loudly ... of course! : ) (I guess, I didn't notice unusual volume)
"Dinosaur wonders about the sight words."
Jai: "Can s/he wonder quietly ..."

Looking at The East Nashvillian magazine, reads some ads, out loud of course:
"Five Points Pizza ... hot pizza, cold beer."

"For the love of God." - recent favorite heard from Miss Julia, common phrase of Mr. Jai's!

"Guys, I get you."
This said in response to discussion about Julia not eating dinner & presenting options.

4 going on 14 - unbelievable!
I had to walk away from dinner table to laugh in other room. : )

Virgin Diet

As I told someone "I don't understand, you cannot un-ring that bell." : )
Apparently it is the author's last name ... and a great marketing gimmick I suspect, will catch people's attention. My sister started it as she was reading the book while here this summer; she & my mother are planning to follow the plan. Basic premise is food elimination for 3-7 weeks in order to determine if there is a food intolerance.

7 foods to eliminate is soy, egg, dairy, peanuts, corn, sugar and gluten. For 3 weeks you do not eat any of the foods in ANY form, including as additives in sauces, salad dressings, ketchup ... EVERYTHING, especially sugar & gluten, actually soy. Crazy!

After listening more, I discussed the idea with Jai for us to consider doing it together. "Under distress" Jai says he'll do it. I think it will be a good plan to break some bad habits of eating too much. I also was not being faithful to my pledge in May to help with my insane allergies issue - no dairy, corn, potato, sugar, wheat. I was good for last 3 weeks of school which is amazing because there is lots of tempting foods in a school. Jai also gained lots of weight in 2012 - stress related to Jacqueline's birth & summer travel.

Part of it for me is calorie intake (food) and calories burned (exercise/movement). As I head back to work next week, I'm excited to have a return to a routine - getting up at 5am will be necessary in order to exercise/shower at the Y & be on the road by 7am in order to get to work on time. I want to miss those school zones on Gallatin Road! I also am going to use FitDay again to log my food & activities in order to monitor my calorie balance.

My goal is to lose 23 pounds in 11 weeks by Oct. 8 - Fall Break in PHX!!!

Straw Experiment

Again an old title post with no hint of intended prose (July, now it is November).
I believe this is related to Miss Jacqueline's fascination (probably most toddlers) with straws.
However, she took it to a new level (again maybe this is typical of other toddlers & we just think ours is brilliant). She had this water bottle that has a "straw" part that flips up,  but sometimes is not best conveyor of beverage. We must have been at a restaurant & she was done with her meal (surprising since she's always hungry and/or eating!); we don't typically have straws in our house. So Jac decides to take the straw and attach it to this bottle. It's not easy to do, at least for a year and half year old's coordination. However, she perseveres, seriously determined & focused, not really frustrated, she just keeps working at it. Then triumph and you should have seen the pleasure on her face. So happy - she did it!

Summer Haircuts

Yesterday 3 of the 5 of us residing in our house got a hair cut.

I had a coupon for Great Clips that expires so I went for my quarterly cut.
I got my hair "thinned" as it was REALLY thick! It grows so fast!
Thankfully there is a lot less hair on my head now - I'm all about less hair on everyone! : )

Since it was taking forever & I had 2 coupons & Julia starts school in 3 weeks, I thought why not her. Julia got her first official "real" hair cut!
Not that it looks drastically different, still short "like a boy," it looks much better than my work. She also really enjoyed the experience, super excited to get in the chair & look at herself in mirror. She started after me & finished before me!

J-Dog went to Dog Spot for his biannual, sometimes quarterly, hair cut & bath.
Somehow the reservation was mistakenly for a "summer shave" which is quite short. When Jai dropped him off, the worker asked him if he was sure! : )
Jai told me later about this "mistake" & after some discussion, we decided this is a good choice. He has TOO much hair plus it is hot so this is a win-win for everyone ... right?

In the car, Julia says the dog is SO hairy, now he will be so bald!
I'm slightly nervous about this decision, but excited when he arrived home with Jai that evening. J-dog looks like a larger version of his puppy self - so adorable, long, skinny.

Side note: He definitely looks skinny despite his visit to vet 2 weeks ago & he weighs 10 pounds more than last year! He eats those toddler scraps from the high chair! : )

Anyway, hopefully we all feel more light & beautiful with our new hairdo's! : )

MNPS clinic

Employee & Family Healthcare Centers
1 of the BEST decisions made by the district ... in a long time ... EVER ...
Our favorite location is the Bransford clinic; we love Marty, Amy, Ms. Pat, really miss Tracy!

Jacqueline is 18 months old today! 
What an amazing 1 1/2 years it has been with such a sweet spirited person.
She is really starting to show quite a personality lately - funny, cute, strong willed, confident, emotional!

• weight = 21.8 pounds = 10%tile (same)
• length= 32 inches = 50%tile (increase)
• head circumference = 44 1/2 cm 
Oddly no change, definitely think some measurements were off last 2 visits!

Lots of talking happening - I wish I understood more of it.
"Mommy" or something close to that represents EVERYTHING - more food, help me, attention.
Even when I'm sitting right next to her & she's looking at Jai or Julia or Susie or anyone else! Crazy!

Every day we hear "she is so beautiful." I remember when people would say that about Julia we would say "and smart too" so it wasn't always about her appearance. We don't bother with much other than "thank you" these days, but hopefully Jacqueline willl to be as brilliant as Julia in her own way.

Regardless Jacqueline is a joy in our lives & others.
We love you!

Adopted Mexican Boy

This is a post I meant to write MANY months ago; however, as often happens I forgot.
Seeing my younger sister while in NC reminded me! We laughed & laughed about it again last week.

Lisa has some photos of the girls on her phone. There is 1 of Julia from the summer before Jacqueline was born. It definitely is 1 in her very short "boy" hair stage. She's probably not wearing pink & is very brown from a summer at Y pool. Apparently she showed the photo to a classmate; the response was something like "that's so cool that your sister adopted a little boy from Mexico."

Come on ... Adopted? Does she not look like me at all?!
I know that is NOT true! I've seen my baby photos!

Seriously? Mexican?!
Not that there is anything wrong with Mexico, but how do you get that?

Really? Boy?
I keep her hair short because it is easier & she wears a variety of clothes' colors.

Actually this is a common mistake - probably heard once a week, actually it happened today.
Julia usually is cool with it, corrects the person.
Today she matter of factly said "she's a girl" when a boy whispered to me "is he a girl?"
Julia was sitting right next to me & heard of course.

Funny & interesting story about gender, race & biology/family! : )

Road Trip 2013

Vomit, Diaper Explosions, Fractured Clavicle ...

oh, just a teaser about our vacation to NC last week!
Also involved a trip to Outer Banks beach & a family picnic/BBQ & fireworks seen from hotel balcony

I'll write more later! : )

Andy Murray Wins Wimbledon

Yeah! Way to go, Andy! It was a great match!!!!

quotes from Road Trip 2013

Nashville, TN to Greenville, North Carolina from June 30-July 6
Fun road trip with Jai, Tara, Julia, Jacqueline, Susie in the mini-van - woo hoo!!

Most of these are courtesy of Julia ... of course! : )

7/2/13
"I am a girlfriend; I don't know who's girlfriend I am, but I am a girlfriend ... my boyfriend likes jello."

Later that evening while the females were hanging out in room #2 of the lovely Days Inn
(Jai got a "Night In" alone in room #1)
We're watching a movie in the dark while I am nursing Jacqueline to sleep (not that it worked!).
"This is not a feeding place! This is a movie theater."

7/3/13
Beach Day at Nags Head in Outer Banks (about 2 1/2 hours from Greenville)
As we're leaving the beach area, driving back to G'ville ...
"Bye beach, thanks for the waves!"

Marque we saw on the drive in anticipation of Independence Day tomorrow.
"Happy Birthday America"
Julia says "Happy Birthday Barack Obama!"

7/7/13 after returning home to N'ville after Julia's early morning fall on Saturday at Asheville hotel
When asked to do some task, Julia's response: "I cannot. I'm wounded."

I'm Browner than My Sister!

Sweet! Goal accomplished!

Thanks in part to 2 circumstances.
1. We didn't travel in June so I had many more opportunities to go to the Y pool.
2. Susie had foot surgery in April so she's been housebound basically for 2 months ... out of the hot hot Arizona sun for those 8 weeks. She also does not have easy access to a pool like we do.

It is great ... while it lasts.
When I visit her in October during Fall Break, I'll be back to my pale self.
Oh, well, it is what it is! : )
Of course, both girls are much browner than I am.
Ironically Jacqueline has spent 1/2 the time as Julia & I at the pool - she's just darker.

That reminds me of a "funny"story that has happened twice recently.
"Your children are darker than you are" ... uh, yeah, duh!
My husband is darker than I am ... plus I'm biracial so I'm paler than an "all black" person.
Whatever. Actually that reminds of another funny story about color & race.

Julia calls me white.
Everyone else she calls brown, except my mom whom she correctly says is white.
Even Susie she says is brown. My twin sister basically the same as me ... brown, but I'm white.
OK -what? We're not sure what that is about, but never boring at our house.

Sorry, Susie for your pain & recovery.
Glad you are up & on your feet & doing so well! : )

Wimbledon 2013

WOO HOO! It started yesterday & what a day of tennis play!
Nadal lost in the first round ... difficult for the French Open champion to transition from clay to grass .
Day 2 - Sharapova & Federer lose ... what is going on?!

Serena did not lose thank goodness! : )
She has some cool custom shoes.
W on the back heel of course + orange swoosh + 5 years she's won above it.
2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012

If she wins this year that would be 3 times Serena has won back to back.
Serena's got style with all the orange accents.
There are orange shorts underneath the white dress which I like and hair band too.

I have concerns about Serena's eyebrows.
What is up with that? They look odd.
They are hugely drawn - why would you do that?

I'm staying home alone to watch tennis and rest.
Julia is at PDO, Jai & Jac went to some park in Madison.
I love being alone in my house & it's BONUS to be able to watch live tennis! : )