New Year ‘n Chips December 31, 2008

I am having trouble accepting that tomorrow is a new year. New years resemble new hope, new beginnings, forgetting about whatever you want to forget about from the previous year. Truth be told, we’ve had a few really good years, and I can’t imagine how 2009 could get any better. In 2006 we got married, in 2007 we went to Europe and moved to Australia and found out about Nicklas. In 2008 we became parents. And while it may have had its trying moments, it has been wonderful. I don’t want or need any new beginnings, and would be perfectly happy to continue on with 2008.

Why do we celebrate a new year, anyway? And why do we need a new calendar to motivate us to do things we could have done at any given time during the previous year, but we hold off and make it a “New Year’s resolution”?  Why do we think a new year will give us reason to do something we apparently couldn’t do the previous year?

I have no resolutions for 2009, just one hope. That my family is happy and healthy for all of it.

The only thing we have to look forward to in 2009 is our trip to the US. That is 5 months and counting!

‘n Chips? I had two meals today that came with “‘n chips” … chicken burger ‘n chips, and fish ‘n chips. That means I’ve officially used up my chip quota for 2 weeks. I had desert twice this week, too. So next week’s menu will have nothing to look forward to!

2008 Review December 26, 2008

It’s that time again. The end of the year, a time to reflect on what we have achieved, experienced, and learned from 2008.

To say this year was a big year for us is an understatement. We started the year in a new country (brand new to Mike, re-new to me) with the knowledge that in 6 months our lives were going to change. We just weren’t sure exactly how, or how much.

In February we celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary with dinner at the Casino and an early night. Nothing too fancy. The next 4 months passed by and as my belly grew, so did our apprehension about becoming parents. We attended our birthing classes at the hospital and during our tour to the birthing suites, I almost passed out. I wasn’t sure if I was just overheated and dehydrated or if the reality of what would soon happen finally kicked in.

In March Mike got a promotion at work, and, unrelatedly, we both had fall-outs with family members, neither of which has been resolved.

April saw us move into a townhouse that my mum had purchased at the end of March. It was great to be in our own space, to paint and decorate the nursery, and to get settled in prior to the little one’s arrival.

On June 29th at 11 pm, I felt pains. Mike was already asleep and I woke him up, telling him I thought I’d just had a contraction. I was convinced it was false labour, and was certain my water hadn’t broken. The contractions didn’t go away, but they were inconsitent and never got closer than about 6 minutes apart. After a sleepless night of timing contractions and trying to sleep for the 5 minutes between each one, we packed up and went to the hospital at 7 am. At 1:44 pm on June 30th, Nicklas arrived and we were forever changed.

What happened between then and now is pretty much a blur. We have this wonderful little guy who we have watched grow and learn and over the last 6 months he has taught us the true meaning of unconditional love. You think you know what love is, until you have a child.

On the downside, the sleep deprivation has been exhausting over the last 6 months. There have been times that I have wondered how I have made it through the day, let alone looked after an infant. But then he smiles at you and he naps when he should and eats when he should and you realise that even the sleep deprivation is worth it.

In August I turned 30, and I think that having a 6 week old baby helped to keep those feelings of “ohmygodIm30″ at bay. Really the idea of turning 30 never bothered me. I was happily married and a new mum to a gorgeous baby boy. Life was definitely great at 30! Unfortunately the following day, my grandmother passed away. Thankfully she got to meet her great-grandson 2 weeks prior to her passing.

We’ve just celebrated Nicklas’ 1st Chrsitmas and know that they will just get more and more exciting from this point on. We had every intention of not spoiling him, but there were way too many presents for him under the tree from “Mummy & Daddy”.

I don’t know what 2009 has in store for us. We are taking a trip to the US in May/June and one of my hopes for 2009 is that the trip goes smoothly. I’m sure I’ve mentioned how much I dislike flying here before. Well, this time we will have an 11 month old with us, so who knows how much fun that will or won’t be. No matter what we encounter in the new year, my biggest wish is that the 3 of us will be happy and healthy.

Week 2 Progress December 23, 2008

I didn’t take the weekend off walking. I walked 30 minutes on Saturday, but did take Sunday off. Yesterday we walked with Mike and then left him at his turn for work and continued on to the grocery store, got some groceries and came home. All up probably an hour of walking. Then for some ridiculous reason, we walked up to Mike’s work and walked home with him. Another 40 minutes or so of walking! This morning we stayed home, but I’m playing tennis tonight. Which is a good thing, because I’ve had 2 pieces of lemon cake today. I felt guilty taking the morning off the walk, because I feel like if I stop one day I might not start again the next. Mike says he won’t let me stop, so that’s good. But I just got on the Wii fit and I haven’t lost any weight. I’ve GAINED .5 kg! WTF? Must.Stop.Snacking.

Week 1 Success! December 19, 2008

Monday – walked to work with Mike. 45 minutes.
Tuesday – 3 matches of social tennis, probably not the best work out but it was really hot and I moved a little bit. 60 minutes.
Wednesday – walked to work with Mike and took a different route home. 45 minutes.
Thursday – walk with another mum and bub. maybe 30 minutes, but it was kind of stop and go.
Friday – walk to work with Mike, then to the mall, then home another route. 90 minute. I am beat.

Weight loss: 2.4 kgs (5.2 lbs) in 11 days. For some reason Wii Fit didn’t register my last body test, so I’m not sure what has happened this week.

I’m taking the weekend off the walking. Unless I’m wide awake at 5:30 am one morning and am motivated. It really is the best time of day!

Week 2 or Week 1 Take 2? December 15, 2008

I don’t think last week could really count as my first week of my exercise/weight loss regime. I got sick Monday night and it was at least Thursday, if not Friday before I really felt better and was back to eating regular meals, etc. Saturday morning Nicklas and I went for a 30 minute walk, then I played tennis at 1. But the weather was so ridiculously hot, I’m not sure you could count it as tennis. We, well I, basically just stood there and hit whatever came right to me. It was so sticky and hot and just disgusting.

So I guess we start over again.  This morning we walked with Mike to work, so about 45 minutes round trip. And tonight I’m going to play tennis for an hour. Tomorrow morning is social tennis, Wednesday walk with Mike, Thursday I’m going to try and walk with another mum and bub, and Friday walk with Mike. Maybe some tennis Thursday night, too.

I did lose almost 2 kgs while I was sick, so we’ll see how I do eating and exercising.

Day 2 and 3 December 10, 2008

Well Day 2 was a complete wash. Monday night I woke up at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30 and 1:30, with vomiting and other bodily functions. It was not pretty. Then Nicklas woke up at 2:30 and I slept on and off and until about 4:30. Mike stayed home from work to watch Nicklas because there was no way I could take care of him yesterday. I don’t know what single mums with no help around do. I guess you suck it up and do what you have to. But I spent about 90% of the day yesterday in bed, sleeping on and off. Needless to say, exercise of any kind was out of the question.

Today I am feeling much better, but still not 100%. I’m not sure how much of that is psychological. I don’t want to eat too much for fear of throwing up again. I hate throwing up. If I’d had really bad morning sickness, I wouldn’t be so keen on having a second child. Mostly today I just feel a bit weak, and that is probably b/c all I’ve eaten in two days is 5 pieces of toast. Plus staying in bed for 24 hours…your body forgets what its like to be up and about.

I didn’t walk to work with Mike this morning…I don’t have enough energy. But I might be playing tennis later tonight if I’m up for it, so not all is lost. My tummy still feels a bit queasy though, so we’ll just have to see how I feel later. Either way, all that vomiting might have been better for the weightloss than walking to Mike’s work! Still, think I’d rather walk than feel as bad as I did.

Day 1 December 8, 2008

Day 1 of Week 1 of “Project Lose 15 Kilos” (which is 33 pounds…which sounds like an awful lot) is underway! This morning I walked approx. 4 kms (2.5 miles?). I’m doing that 3 times a week, and playing tennis 3 times a week. I have about 6 1/2 months, and really, if I’ve lost half of my goal by then, I’ll be happy. I probably should weigh myself today so I know what my starting point is. I guess if I post it here, then I really have motivation to see the numbers drop. I am not trying to get “skinny” I’m just trying to get healthy. Nicklas is going to be crawling soon, then walking and running, and I want to be able to keep up with him! I also want to be able to buy and wear the beautiful clothes I see every time I’m in a store and the biggest size they have is 12. And I want to be able to look at photos and not think “Ugh, burn that!”

The biggest challenge will be drinking water, not iced coffee, and eating a somewhat balanced diet. Cereal for breakfast, salads for lunch and meats and veggies for dinner. Right. I can do this. I WILL do this.

Christmas December 4, 2008

I have been so far ahead of the curve this year when it comes to Christmas. We didn’t bring any Christmas decorations (or furniture or hardly anything!) with us from the States, and last year we were at my mum’s, so this year we had to get a tree and decorations. We went shopping in the middle of November to get everything, mostly to avoid the crowds. But of course when we got home I couldn’t let it just sit in storage…nooooo. It had to go UP! NOW! So we’ve had the tree up for a few weeks already, and we have presents wrapped underneath. Today I mailed off my Christmas cards…the only thing left to do is send a box to my Mother In Law which hopefully will get done in about 10 days. Still waiting on a few things to go in it. I can’t believe its only 21 days away! I can’t wait to see what Nicklas thinks of it all. This year will be special for sure, but next year will be even better. He’ll be 18 months and running around, pulling decorations off the tree, trying to unwrap presents…I think the presents will have to come out Christmas eve after he’s gone to bed. Someone on one of the online parenting forums I read, said once the kids are old enough you have to make sure you wrap “santa’s” presents in a different paper, because the kids won’t believe Santa has the same paper as mom and dad! Good point, will have to remember that one.

Speaking of Santa though, we got the cutest picture of him with Santa. I wonder if he’ll be that happy to sit on Santa’s lap again next year. The people were great, and took about 15 pictures, to make sure we got a good one, and it look a little bit of coaxing, but he finally gave a great big smile. Here’s the pic:

I didn’t realize how big Santa was until I looked at this picture and Nicklas looks so small on his lap! Of course because the pic was so good, I had to get copies for the whole family, so that set us back more than a picture with Santa really should.

We weren’t going to get Nicklas a lot of presents because he isn’t really going to know what’s going on, but sure enough he has about 5 little toys wrapped under the tree and a stocking full of onesies and singlets. We also put a little bit of money aside for him. The idea was to save this money and when he turns 18 and/or graduates from high school, give it to him to go to college, or go travelling. But if we keep adding to it as well as we have been, we might not give it all to him! Haha. Then again, that account might just be money for all our kids, however many there may one day be, so it won’t be that much after all.

Anyway, now I have gotten side tracked. Mike has two 4-day weekends over Christmas/New Year. He has Christmas and Boxing Day off (Thurs and Fri) then the weekend. Then the following week he has January 1 (Thursday) off and he’s taken a leave day on January 2. We had thought about going away, but a lot of places here have 7 day minimum stays over school holidays. It’s very sucky.

Ok. REALLY enough rambling from me now. 20 more sleeps until the fat guy in the red suit is here!