On being a working mother

Today marks the one year anniversary of me officially being a Working Mom. My take on the past year?

It. Sucked. And it was way more difficult than I ever imagined it would be.

It's been hard for me to wrap my heart and head around the idea of barely spending 3 waking hours with my son during the week. And let's not forget how Colin is not a morning person and usually just cries at my feet while I get my things together for work. One good thing is that I can make a mean pot of coffee one handed :)

At night when we get home, all I want to do is hang out and play with him but we get home at 5:30 PM, dinner is on the table by 6 and he's in bed by 7. That doesn't leave much time for playing. Plus he is tired and hungry and just cries. And cries. And cries. I swear he saves up his tears all day and then the second we walk in the door, he lets loose and just screams. All night. It's rough, peeps.

Lately I've been struggling with devoting time for myself. I so badly want to get back in to a workout routine but I am finding it nearly impossible. Every time - every single time - I set my alarm to wake up early and work out, Colin also decides he wants to be up early. I know you're probably thinking "Make Mark take him!". Tried it. Doesn't work. Colin has a very low tolerance for Mark (no idea why) but when they're alone, Colin usually just screams. As a mom, I emotionally can NOT listen to my child screaming and try to ignore it just for half an hour of "Me Time". His happiness is more important to me than a workout.

I try my best to get in some workouts while I'm at work. I take the stairs every chance I get, I walk on my breaks. I take the long way to my car. It definitely does help but it's not enough. I need to find other ways to fit my fitness in to my day.

My only salvation from Colin's incessant screaming and my lack of exercise is the weekend. He is an absolute angel on weekends. We play, we cuddle, we chat. There is crying but nothing like during the week. I work out during naps and meals, something I can't do during the week. It's blissful.

A little voice in my head always reminds me that the grass may not be greener on the other side, though. If I were a stay at home mom, my relationship with Colin may not be as strong as it currently is. I try to remind myself that while yes, he does scream A LOT, he is genuinely a happy, well adjusted child.

And to me, that is the most important thing.

My hippy ways

Have you ever been called a name by a stranger and the only retort you could muster up was a huge smile?

It happened to me today. I was waiting in line to check out at the grocery store and I lugged my two gallons of vinegar on to the counter.

"Wow. That's a lot of vinegar. Is it for a recipe?" said the teenage worker.

"Nope. I use it for cleaning my house and doing laundry."

"Oh. You're one of those 'hippy' people."

It took me a minute to process what she had just called me. But it's true. I have definite hippy ways.

For as long as I can remember I've only ever used vinegar to clean and disinfect hard surfaces. Hell, I even use it to clean my oven and carpet. It's so cheap and versatile. I only use traditional cleaner on the toilets. I recently read that white vinegar is good for reducing static cling in clothes. Now I'm adding it to every rinse cycle.

Speaking of laundry...I also make my own laundry detergent. It's so, so, so simple and way more cost effective than buying it at the store. I just get a box of Borax and a box of Washing Soda, mix them together and add in a bar or two of shredded Fels Neptha soap. In the last batch I made, I added OxiClean and baking soda just for added insurance that Colin's clothes come clean. For stain removal, I use Clorox Green Works. One batch of my homemade detergent lasts roughly 4 to 6 months and costs around $10. You only need one tablespoon of detergent per load but I just use the scoop that comes with the OxiClean for easy measuring.

It makes me feel good to know that I'm helping the environment while also being able to keep my home clean and germ free. I take that 'hippy' label and wear it with pride!

We survived!

We are finally home from our trip to Michigan. I must say, it wasn't that bad. There were more than a few moments of frustration (on my part) but we survived.

• The highlight of the trip: Watching Mark ski with Colin down the bunny hill.
• The lowest point: Mark lost his wedding ring the morning we left.
• The hardest part of the trip was getting through to my MIL that Colin doesn't get dessert after every meal.

The 9+ hour car ride pretty much sucked. The only thing that would keep Colin from sc.re.am.ing was us singing the ABC's. I think we sang that song for 3 hours of the trip. Mark and I joked that Colin would know his ABC's by the time we got to Michigan.

 

Seeing how much it meant to Mark to share his favorite pastime with Colin was amazing. I didn't realize the magnitude of it until we were actually there. I fought hard to not even take Colin on this trip. I thought he was too young for that long of a trip but he was a rock star. Well, not so rock star with napping and sleeping in general. But he was very well behaved. We tried our best to keep him on somewhat of a schedule and it seemed to work out.

I spent the days inside the ski lodge hanging out with Colin. Every day so many people would stop by and talk to us. One day while he was napping, a woman gave me a magazine to read. Then Colin decided to make a mad dash for the ski shop and the lady working had a good laugh at him. She tried relentlessly to track down a sled for him but, oddly enough, there was no sled to be found. Being surrounded by so many nice and gracious people was refreshing.

I'm also happy to report that neither Mark nor I gained any weight on the trip! YAY!!

Here are a few pictures from the trip.

 

 

 

I am losing it

Pounds, that is!

Since mid-December I have lost 6 pounds. HOORAY! I did it by simply changing my eating habits. I mentioned in a previous post that I've been choosing fruit and veggies over cereal, etc. I also started eating oatmeal every day for breakfast. I think that's what really helped. More fiber = less bloat.

It's crazy but it literally felt like one day I weighed 138 and the next I was 134. It happened so fast. Of course, once I lost the initial 4 pounds I started trying harder to keep the weight off. That's when I really got back in to my Weight Watchers mentality of the good old "Give and Take" as I call it. I will never forget the WW meeting Leader saying "Can't live without cheese on that sandwich? That is fine. Just get mustard instead of mayo and load it with veggies." That give-and-take lesson consumed my WW journey and I've picked up the habit again.

My husband has also asked for my help in improving his eating habits which is going to also help me in the long run. Since I have to set an example for him, it means I have to make the right food choices.

I am a little concerned with our upcoming vacation because my husband often thinks "vacation calories" don't count. I've warned him that I will be harsh with him and until he learns how to make good choices on his own, he has to run his meals past me. I know that seems a little controlling but he asked me to do it that way.

I'll report back next week about how we did. Send good thoughts my way - about weight loss and surviving a week long trip with the in-laws ;)