Resolutions, 2015 edition

I have posted yearly resolutions for awhile now. There was 2014, 2013, 2012, & 2011. I've been mostly successful at keeping these resolutions, so I figured what the heck, lets try a new set for 2015. Only I'm tired and pregnant and busy, so lets make these really, really attainable.

So here are my 2015 New Years Resolutions.

1. Have a baby. That one will be easy to keep if not easy to actually accomplish.

2. Finish the paperwork for my Clear Credential which has been sitting on my desk for 2 years. This one I HAVE to do since my credential expires soon.

3. Run again after baby is born and I've gotten the all clear. This one I've been dying to do for ages, but since I was so sick the 1st trimester I got out of the habit and I don't think picking up running again at 30 weeks is such a good idea.

4. Try not to stress myself out over losing baby weight. This one will be the hardest, by far. It's my 3rd baby, I'm in my 30s, and losing weight won't come as easily (not like it was ever easy, but you get my drift) as it did when I was in my 20s. So I need to cut myself some slack. It will have taken 40 weeks to earn these enormous lunch lady arms, so it's gonna take awhile to make them go away.

Speaking of being 30 weeks and having lunch lady arms, here's a belly pic. Scroll down for comparison w/ G & P pregnancies.

Now w/ Penelope - only at 31 weeks

And with Griffin at 32 weeks

Things to note:
1. I miss that dress, why did I ever get rid of it?
2. Uh, that's it. So really "Thing to note."

We did have a 30 week appointment this Saturday, in addition to hosting a group prenatal at our house. Baby looks good, things are normal and boring.

The group prenatal was interesting. Everyone brought food and we sat around and shared birth stories while the midwives pulled people into the back room for their individual visits. Overall it was nice. Exhausting, but nice. We haven't met a lot of people here outside of our respective places of employment (and more so my work than B's), so it was nice to meet people who not only had kids, but were also home birthers. While home birthers can be a diverse group, they tend to share some things in common and so it's nice to get to know people who have similar philosophies as we do. I don't know if we'll find new besties, and I doubt any group could replace the MSN/One Heart community we had out in Sacramento, but hopefully we'll get to know a few families to add to our social circle.

I'm now on bi monthly pre natal visits, so I see the midwives again in 2 weeks. Come mid-February we'll be on weekly visits until baby 3 decides to make an appearance. I'm really hopeful this one follows in its sister & brother's footsteps and comes on its EDD (3/14/15) because Pi Day is an awesome day on which to be born. We'll see. There's only so much say I have in the matter.

2013

So it's a new year and it's time for the obligatory New Years Resolutions post.

Here are links to the past two years of resolutions

As you can see, the last 2 years weight (losing) has been a part of my New Years Resolutions. Not this year. While in an ideal world I'd be able to lose 5 more pounds, I do not live in an ideal world and would have a really hard time maintaining that kind of weight loss.

So instead, my goal is to be more active. To walk. To take the kids out to the school's track and run with them. To ride my bike more often around town.

I want to be healthier overall. We eat (mostly) healthy but I can tweak our diets to include more fresh (less canned) vegetables.

I'd also like to find a place where I can take the kids to volunteer. Maybe a park clean up or beach clean up.

And that's pretty much it. I want to keep it simple this year. Be healthy and give back.

So here are some recent pictures of the kids!

Penelope at her friend Teagan's Tea-Party themed birthday:




Kids at the zoo with Daddy


A Hippo!


Hippo Conquered!


A Rhino!


 Spider-Bubs


Peacock Penny


Hope you all have a wonderful New Year!

Resolutions

Obviously regular blogging is not one of my resolutions this year.

I had some, but forgot them. So now I'm going to make some more. I'll warn you now- none are very earth shattering.

1. Go to the beach at least once a month. We live 8 miles from the ocean (although not 8 miles from our favorite dog-friendly beach, but it only takes us 20-30 minutes to get there). There's at least one weekend a month where the weather is nice enough for a day at the beach. It's good for the kids, it's good for the dogs, it's good for us all. And we all love the beach - Poe especially. She spends the entire time running up and down the shore. I have no idea why she loves running so much (I hate it) but I'm glad she likes the exercise.

2. Grow out my hair - I've decided not to cut my hair (bangs excepted) for an entire year. If I could afford extensions I would get them... maybe for Mother's Day. I keep saying I want my hair to be really long, but I always get frustrated and cut it. So no haircuts. I may trim it if the ends split, but I hope to be able to go the whole year without cutting my hair.

3. Maintain - or lose 4 lbs. I would love to lose 4 more pounds so I can be at a nice 1*5. I've lost 50lbs since last year and fit into all my pre-pregnancy clothes so I don't really need to lose any weight. But, being a product of my environment, I can't help but feel the need to set a weight loss goal. I know, I know... but it's a hard habit to break. Anyone who has struggled with weight issues understands - it's irrational but it's hard to shake.

And that's it. I could make more, but I probably wouldn't remember (and keep) them all. I think this is a manageable number and all ones that are reachable. Perhaps I will revisit the list in a few months to see how things are coming along. But perhaps not.

New Years Day

A NYE post will come soon, but today it's all about New Years Day. It was a really stellar weekend out here. Mid 70s, sunny, a little breezy, but overall gorgeous. We took advantage of the weather and spent time outside, but also visited one of our favorite Monterey spots: the Aquarium.

If you've never been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you should go. It's amazing, and gives you the excuse to see us :) (we have guest passes!) both kids love the aquarium, they know the layout of the building and we have a pretty regular route. Otters, Deep Sea (includes jellyfish, sharks, sea turtles, sunfish, etc), play area, penguins, octopus, sea horses, and occasionally includes petting the bat rays, starfish, and hermit crabs. We "hung out" with an exceptionally friendly penguin named Pebble on this trip. I'm not sure if it was a male or female penguin, but it was very interested in swimming up against the glass where we were and making eye contact with G. Here are some pictures:







Looking out at the ocean:



In a penguin egg:



By the Puffin exhibit:







On the play area:



After the Aquarium we headed home. I was expecting naps after a morning of running around the aquarium and was a little disappointed that no one was tired (well, mommy & daddy aside). So we broke out the bikes and spent the afternoon outside.







(G's bike it a little too big... Maybe in a few months he'll be ready to try and "ride" it).



Next was skating:











All in all (no naps aside) it was a great day. A great anniversary, and a great start to the new year. Here's hoping your new year started well and stays great! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

New Years Resolutions

So people who have known me for awhile have seen me go through quite a few transformations. One of the largest (no pun intended) is the changes in my weight/body... I went from heavy to thin to now (and I'm not sure what to call now).

Here are some pictures for comparison.

Me at my heaviest:


Me at my thinnest:


Pretty big difference, no?

And here's me now:


So, not as big as picture 1 and nowhere near as thin as picture 2.

Something must be done about this.

New Years is just around the corner, and usually this means resolutions I don't intend to keep. So this year I'm going to keep it simple.

1. Eat healthier. 1 Vegan meal a week. Red meat once or twice a month. No soda. Cut back on oils.
2. Be more active. Walk 3x a week with the kids. Take tap classes with mom.
3. Try not to worry so much about my weight. I have two beautiful children (who are the reason I gained so much weight in the first place). They don't care what size pants I wear. I have a wonderful husband who still thinks I'm beautiful. There are 1,000 things in this world that are more important than fitting into my size 6 pre-pregnancy jeans.