Bouncing Back After Baby: 3/1 - 3/6

[MCmom]

Happy March everyone! I heard on the news last night, that our heating bill will be going up 34% this month. It's already been much higher than last winter (70% higher), I can't believe they're going to be milking us for even more money. Tomorrow another cold front is headed our way, so the gas & electric co. should be happy.

Tomorrow is Leah's baby dedication. My mom, stepdad, niece and nephew will be coming, but on my DH's side, only his brother will be there. My MIL isn't involved in our children's lives, so it doesn't really matter whether she comes or not. It's supposed to be for those who will be involved, in helping to raise Leah. My FIL lives in another state, and hasn't been in the picture for many years.

We're all healthy for the time being. I hear due to our crazy weather (up & down in temps.), colds and flus will be on the rise this month. I can't wait for spring!

Lee - I'm sorry to hear of all the illness in your household! I know you're taking good care of your baby girls, they should be feeling better in no time. Have you given them any chicken noodle soup? I've heard it works wonders. I want to find a good recipe, and make it homemade. I've never done that before.

I think we've lost Ashley. Our group seems to be getting smaller, instead of bigger like I hoped. Now whenever anyone new joins, I have a hard "welcoming" them, b/c I know they'll disappear like all the rest. Oh well, what can you do.

Bye!

[hemthai]

FINALLY finished my registration. Hello all. Been lox-carbing for a few weeks and feel great (except for my breath)......but, not much sacrifice there

[LisaBisa]

Mary, thats great about the baby dedication. are you going to have a little party or anything afterwards?

I know what you mean...our group is dwindling...hope we can keep it together!

Lee, I hope you all get well soon!

Thankfully we've been pretty healthy this year. I'm quite glad for that.

My weight is kind of level right now. Thank god. I was gaining again But, I'm working hard, and it has to come of SOMETIME right??

Michael had another tooth break through the skin. I don't think I mentioned that. Can't believe he's not even five months old yet and has 2 teeth!

I'll sign off now...post more late this weekend. I'm still in my robe *showered after workingh out*

lisa

[LisaBisa]

oh and mary, I hear you on the bills. Its crazy!!

We are trying to get ourselves out of debt. Only about 5 grand...but thats the debt we got into while Nick was off work so long. So, we figured out we're spending about 1000 a month at the grocery store! 1000 For TWO ppl!~

Anway...just wanted to let you know I UNDERSTAND about freaking bills!

Lisa

[hemthai]

Lisa, what a CUUUUUTE baby!! God bless you guys.
I've been low-carbing for a few weeks and am very pleased. I've been at an ideal weight for some time, but found myself becoming obsessive on the low calorie diets - to the point of bingeing and sometimes purging.......my boyfriend then woke me up and told me that I was getting "sickly skinny" and this 'diet' has turned that all around.
I have no sweet-cravings anymore.....hence, no bingeing. I love to cook, so it's great with all the low-carb recipe sites on the Web.
It was awful, at times I couldn't even sit down and eat dinner with my daughters because of my obsessiveness. My oldest (she turned 7 yesterday) was beginning to pick up on it......here I was always preaching 'inner-beauty' to them and "I" wasn't even practicing that myself. Now, I am never hungry, sit during meals with my family, AND maintaining my weight......remarkable!!
My dad is diabetic and I just bought the Atkins book for him. I'm hoping it will help him.....
I have some pics of me & my girls.....I'll send them over.
I was so pleasantly surprised to see such a strong support group for low-carbers.

[hemthai]

Trying to figure out how to get my pictures on here....

[curlyque]

Mary: What's the appropiate thing to say for a dedication? Have fun? Congratulations? I'm Jewish, forgive my ignorance here. Your heating bill rise is a lot. We heat priamarily with wood during the winter. We have an outside wood stove (looks like a small shed) that DH loads with wood twice a day. This keeps our heating bill down. We have a large house, so the cost of propane would kill us to heat it. The body suit is yours if you'd like it. Just send me an email with your address and I'll send it right out.

Lee: Hope you all get better soon! There was over 100 kids in my daughter's school out with the flu in the last couple of weeks. So far she's well, thank goodness.

Lisa: That's a lot of money on food....wow. We spend too much too. I think around $600 a month, sometimes a little less/more.

hemthai: Welcome. I'm Stephanie, mom to Marlee (9) and Roarke (6 weeks). Sounds like you are doing well with LC so far. Keep up the good work.


Stephanie

[MCmom]

Lisa - We decided not to have a get-together after the dedication, b/c my middle child Moriah will be turning 3 on April 5th, and we will be having everyone over then. We are on a "very" tight budget, so we're saving our money for the birthday party.

Are you saying you spend $1000 per month, on only groceries (food)?? That is a lot of money. You're not including diapers and household items in that total, are you? I spend about $450 per month on groceries, which I thought was a lot.

It is early for Michael to be having 2 teeth. I guess he's taking it well, since you haven't been complaining like the rest of us. It will be awhile before Leah gets any teeth.

Don't worry, the weight has to come off some time. It certainly sounds like you're working hard enough at it. Eventually you'll be able to get back into ketosis, and that will really help.
Stephanie - I really don't know what to say for a baby dedication either. What we're doing is dedicating Leah to God, and as her parents, we will do our best to be good Christian examples, teaching her to love and serve God. What would you say for that? Maybe something like, "May God bless Leah," or "Wishing Leah all the best," would be nice.

We could use a wood stove about now. How nice for you guys to have one.

Sending my address right away! Thanks!!

Hemthai - It sounds like LC'ing is going really well for you. That's great. How old are all your children?

MaryC

[LisaBisa]

Mary, I was including diapers and diaper genie refills in that total. I get all that at walmart, I spend about 40 bucks a week at walmart,...not sure how much of that is groceries and how much is household crapola. But, at most, its about 160 of the total 1000.

Very very frustrating. We're trying to figure out now how to cut our food bill. we've decided on 150 a week max for all of this. We're going to be eating a LOT more chicken. Do you KNOW how cheap I could feed us if we could eat carbs??

ANYWAY

Enjoy the dedication! Too bad I dont' live close, I would make a cake

I think we might go downstairs now and watch a movie...so have a good nite

lisa

[Lee A]

well a reprieve(the girls are asleep-for the moment).It took until 3am to get them settled last night.Then they were up at 7am.I can't wait until they're better,this is terrible.Cody has been a little cling on...

so today they had a nap and I went crazy,pulled out the fridge and stove and cleaned behind them,washed a few walls.I'm going on a blitz this week,tho' I'm paying for it now.

The scale's been saying 136 despite the carbs I'm consuming.I thought about it and I haven't been eating at night or snacking so maybe that's why I'm pulling it off.

Hi Mary-beyblades are these tops.You compete them and see who can knock the others top out.Not a bad game but too commercial.Our gas is going up again too(and at the pumps).It's so tiring...

Yeah we've been doing lots of chicken soup and keeping up on fluids.Lots of baths,humidifier,vaporizer going.Cough syrup,Vicks,throat spray...you name it,I'm doing it.It hasn't affected their appetite much and I've been giving them lots of apples/oranges(Vit C)for snacks.I think we're over the worst of it but the baby has a ways to go.

Hope the dedication is lovely,Leah is blessed to have such a caring Mom

Hi Hemthai-welcome Yeah I find I have to watch how I eat with my kids as they try to copy me(and they're allowed-but I don't want them to cut the carbs like I do).I basically told them the truth,that starches/sugars raise my BP.Now they are my conscience when I eat.

Hi Lisa-ouch with the food bill.At max I spend $250 but that's no frills.When I worked I bought more lavish things.I buy big packs of meat,break it down and freeze it.We make everything from scratch.I buy lots of noname products.Plus lettuce was reasonable all winter,I was shocked.Hope you can narrow it down.Carbs do cost less,that's probably why I indulge sometimes.I'm almost CAD'ing these days.
Did Michael cut the bottom ones?I'll be so happy when all the teething stuff is past.

Hi Steph-yeah it's scary with the school absences.It's a precursor for an epidemic at some point(I've ben reading about this).After reading what happened in Virginia I wasn't sleeping very easy through my kids illness.I miss having wood heat.

See y'all tomorrow.

[MCmom]

Leah's dedication went really well. Our pastor held her, and she just stared at him as if to say, "Who are you??" I could tell she was a little scared, and I kept thinking to myself, "Please don't cry, please don't cry." At the end she let out a little cry, but he was done, so I quickly calmed her back down. She's already showing a preference for the people she knows, like mom or dad. It's nice when they want you over other people. She even reaches out her arms for me now. Today she sat up on her own for a few minutes, before tumbling over. That's a new record. My big girl!

The kids and I visited my mom yesterday (it went well), and my mom bought some pizza for everyone. It was loaded with toppings, which was great for me. I didn't even feel a bit tempted to eat the crust. At church this morning, someone asked, "You're not still losing weight are you?" I told her I still had 50 lbs to lose, and she told me not to go overboard. I wore a skirt to church that I used to not be able to fit. Now it's getting too big for me. I just luv this lose weight stuff!

Lisa - That was sweet about the cake! I'm assuming it would have been a LC cake. It would actually be more expensive for me to eat a high-carb diet. I used to eat out at fast food restaurants all the time, and eat lots of junk food. Now we go out to eat about once ever 2-3 months, and I snack less than before. The meat I usually buy is ground beef (preferably ground round), chicken, pork, and tuna. Once in awhile I get roasts, but only when they're on sale. I hope the movie was good!

Lee - Wow, you were up half the night, and yet you still cleaned while your girls were napping??!! I don't know if you're crazy or you're super mom! I would have napped right along with them.
It sounds like you're doing all you can to get your girls healthy. They're blessed too with a great mom. Leah's been a cling-on for the last 5 mths. It's hard to believe she's going to be 6 mths old on the 21st. I wonder if I'll be able to put her down anytime this year. LOL.

Yeah for you on the weight-loss! It's great when the scale goes down. I hope your B/P is too.

Stephanie - I just wanted to add that we have a little house, and I'm glad we didn't buy some of the really big ones we looked at. The utilities alone would have killed us. Sometimes it's better to start small (this is our first house), and work your way up.

I got your e-mail, and I can hardly wait!

MaryC

[LisaBisa]

Mary, I'm glad the dedication went well!

And the cake comment wasn't sweet...after making Michaels baptism cake, I'm fired up to make more

I'm hoping church has a easter potluck so I can make something for it...a cross cake or something like that

Anyway, I'm glad it went well.

Lisa

[Lee A]

it was a rough night again last night.I went to bed at 12:30am,Cody was up at 2:30am and Selena at 4am.Then 7am they were all up(sigh)...

Hi Mary-yeah I am a nut Actually I never nap,no matter how tired I am.The best I might do for myself is try to go to bed early(10pm).I set a goal to get my house in order this week no matter what.My kids are clingy but yet I still washed all our bedding today and bleached the bathroom.I have this thought in my head that maybe if I dispense with the germs the kid will get better.I want to do windows and curtains tomorrow.We'll see...

I am so happy Leah's dedication went well and that she held up through it all.Cody still makes strange even with our folks but overall we don't see many people.Woohoo that she sat on her own for a bit.Gotta love those little milestones.

How wonderful to have some compliments.That is wonderful incentive to stick to plan.You may need to buy clothes sooner than you think

so I have a pumpkin carrot cake in the oven(baked banana/blueberry muffins yesterday).After it's out I'm off to bed.Oh yeah I actually worked out today,shocked myself too.

Hi Lisa-I have a GF that loved baking cakes and she went into business doing it and it really took off.Food for thought

Hi to all our MIA's

[MCmom]

I'm down another lb today! I can't be in ketosis, b/c I'm still eating some whole-grains, but I must be close. I talked to my mom on the phone today, and I wanted to tell her, but I didn't. She would only have felt sad, b/c she still has alot of weight to lose. I cheer her on when she loses weight, but she can't find it in her, to return the favor. Oh well, nothing new there. I'm still happy.

Leah had the worst poopy diaper yet today. It went clear up her back, and when I was cleaning her up, she kept getting her hands in it. I won't even talk about the smell. Yuck.

I'm going to attempt to put Leah in her crib tonight. It will be the first time. The bassinet (sp?) is getting cramped, and I don't want her getting used to sleeping in my bed at night. I have a feeling this is going to be a long and difficult transition.

Lisa - I wish you could make Moriah's birthday cake. She wants a Clifford cake, and I don't think the stores or bakeries make them around here. I don't know of anyone who makes specialty cakes either. Moriah will have to be happy with whatever I can find.

Lee - I'm going to be attempting to clean the house this week. I have a friend (along with her 3 kids) coming over on Thurs., who's never seen my house. The kids and I visited her house last week, and it was spotless. I can't guarantee spotless, but I can try for surface clean. We'll see if I can put Leah down long enough to do it.

Can you give me your carrot cake recipe? I want to make a LC cake, and I read on a different thread, how someone modified a carrot cake recipe. I want to see if I can do it. I looked in the recipe room, but I didn't find what I was looking for.

Good for you on working out. Now if you can just get a decent nights rest. You seem to be doing well, even without much sleep at night. I'm impressed. You wouldn't even want to know what I'm like, when I'm sleep deprived. LOL. I hope your girls feel better soon!

[LisaBisa]

Mary,

Do you have a small clifford toy? Or can you get one?

Could you get a cake from the bakery, if you dont' bake. And have them just ice it with a border, and maybe put on the words.

Then you finish yourself? Mabye make brown or black icing and put little doggie prints on the cake. And a small plush clifford toy on the cake itself? *just put some saran wrap on the spot where he will go, and set the toy on that...maybe sprinkle w/some icing sugar first*

Since she's a girl, have them put some red flowers on in two corners maybe. The words in the middle, then the toy in another corner. And, if you can pull off the paw prints...that would be just TOO cute! sorry...

Just an idea....

Good on you for losing!! Thats awesome!~

I hear you on the diapers. After we intro'd rice, he'd save them up for 2-3 days...then WATCH OUT! GRRR He's doing better now that he has veggies every day though.



Good luck on the housecleaning.

Lee...good for you for working out! You NEVER nap? Sheesh...I don't nap often...but I should.

Oh, Michael has taken to waking up at 4-5 am. He isn't hungry, he just wants his nuk and goes right back to sleep. How aggravating it is though.. Oh well. I hope his sleep patterns don't change *too* much...think its because he's teething?

Anyway...Have a good day all!

Lisa

[LisaBisa]

mary...another idea. I know you are tight on money...but this might work for you

http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/no...d/clifford.htm

They have things called edible images here. A cute clifford one actually. Anyway, , you could buy a cake decorated with just a border like I said. Maybe some flowers in the corners, and place an edible image on it in the middle. *it costs 6.50 at the link above* They are easy to use, you just peel off a backing and lay it on the cake.

Just another suggestion for you

Lisa

[curlyque]

I only have a few minutes to say hi. Roarke has been really gassy today which so unusual. He is generally gassy in the evening. He had a BM last night so I thought he would be okay today. He's really fussy and wants to be held.

Mary: The package went out today so you should receive it in a few days.

Oh, he's up again...Hi to Lisa and Lee.

[JustKim]

Hi everyone! I just got home from my meeting in Fargo at 3am this morning...so I'm pooped! It's the first time I have been away from the kids. My cell phone bill will be large this month I did get to read Allen his bedtime story over the phone each night though.

I won't even comment on things my MIL did while watching the kids...egads!

See Mary you're shrinking away!

Lisa - Sydney would do the same thing. Of course I'd have to get up and give her her binkie and then she was right back to sleep...and of course once I'm up I'm up!

We had a Clifford cake for Allen's 2nd birthday. Our grocery store bakery has all of these templates that they use. I'd check there too. This year I bet it will be a Scooby Doo cake LOL

I need to get my house cleaned too! I usually get everything done on the weekend and being away this weekend has my routine messed up LOL

[Lee A]

Hi Mary-Congrats on the lb! You can always tell Mom when you drop 20 My Mom is trying to lose in her own way(tho I've told her the LC way)

Good luck on making the crib adjustment.I actually dismantled ours today.To be honest I just made the recipe up out of my head when I made it but I do have a standard recipe I use but I'll have to look for it.I like going to www.allrecipes.com it has nutritional info on each recipe which is helpful.Here's a great LC place www.carb-lite.au.com/index.html

My younger 2 are still sick.They're having such a hard time.It's quite heartrenching.I don't predict a good night's sleep tonight either.Hope you can find the time to clean house.It's hard getting the behind the scenes stuff.I did clean behind my washer and dryer today but that was it.Still haven't dusted or did the china or stove burners etc...but tomorrow is another day

Hi Lisa-never was a napper and my kids don't either(except the baby).In the morning I race out of bed if they get up before me because they have a way of getting into things.I'm thinking you should seriously think of making a little stay at home income and enter the cake decorating business.I like your ideas and may steal them for myself Toys on the cake are always a hit.My SIL cousin put a Barbie in a cake center(Bundt)and my niece was just thrilled with the cake gift.

Hi Steph-do you use gripe water at all?I find it helpful for upset tummies.

Hi Kim-how sweet you got to do a telestory.Did you miss your kids terribly?I have a hard time getting away for an hour.So what did MIL do?Yeah I'm nosy.Scooby doo-great idea.My kids love that movie.

Gotta run...

[JustKim]

Lee I was up all night Saturday night while I was away It was hard being away.

My MIL is a piece of work! I washed all of the kids' clothes on Friday before I left and Allen was to sort his clothes and put them away Saturday while I was gone. Well MIL re-washed all of his clothes. She re-arranged furniture. She re-organized (actually she UN-organized) Allen's toys. She re-arranged things in Sydney's room. She cooked a roast in one of my round metal cake pans! Yeah like I can make a cake in there now! Just crazy stuff! She never cleans her house so I have no idea why she thought she had to do things at mine while she was babysitting because the house was already clean. Then she did one of my biggest pet peeves....she ran the dishwasher and it was practically empty! LOL Sorry you asked now Lee LOL

Hey guess what!!!!! Sydney cut her first tooth yesterday!! n a totally different spot from where we thought she was going to LOL

I 2nd about Lisa becoming a caterer/baker!! All of her ideas sound absolutely yummy! I love to bake (not so much actually cook) but never feel like I have time right now

[JustKim]

Lee I was up all night Saturday night while I was away It was hard being away.

My MIL is a piece of work! I washed all of the kids' clothes on Friday before I left and Allen was to sort his clothes and put them away Saturday while I was gone. Well MIL re-washed all of his clothes. She re-arranged furniture. She re-organized (actually she UN-organized) Allen's toys. She re-arranged things in Sydney's room. She cooked a roast in one of my round metal cake pans! Yeah like I can make a cake in there now! Just crazy stuff! She never cleans her house so I have no idea why she thought she had to do things at mine while she was babysitting because the house was already clean. Then she did one of my biggest pet peeves....she ran the dishwasher and it was practically empty! LOL Sorry you asked now Lee LOL

Hey guess what!!!!! Sydney cut her first tooth yesterday!! n a totally different spot from where we thought she was going to LOL

I 2nd about Lisa becoming a caterer/baker!! All of her ideas sound absolutely yummy! I love to bake (not so much actually cook) but never feel like I have time right now

[hemthai]

Hello everybody, I'm back!
As usual my week has already started off hectic. We have auditors coming in next month at my job and I've been preparing for them AND doing my regular work.
Anyway, I have to apologize...I've been reading the threads, but I may not be too familiar with everyone yet.
Sounds like most of you guys have little ones - how precious. I have 2 girls, my oldest just turned 7. This coming weekend we're all going to Disney Quest - it should be fun. Krista is so into video games now (and I'll be there to monitor the content). My youngest daughter Raina is 4....she'll be 5 in June. She is truly a little angel. She's so calm and always listens and helps out around the house. She's in preschool right now, but kindergarten is right around the corner - I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, ALREADY!!
As for me, I "was" a single mother. I divorced 4 years ago, with my children's father. He has a son the same age as our daughter - so that should explain why. He still remains a part of their life as we share custody. 2 months ago I moved in with my boyfriend (we've been dating for a looong time) but I just introduced him to my girls and they LOVED him - that's when we decided to take the next step and live together. So far, not much has changed - but our relationship HAS gotten even better.....so, things are looking up!
Sounds like you guys have a tightly knit support group - that's exactly what I need. I'm just trying to maintain.... I was on a low calorie diet, but found myself bingeing on carbs. So far, this way of life has worked for me....surprisingly, I'm eating more and not gaining weight - how wonderful is that?!
Well, good luck to everyone!

[MCmom]

I've been cleaning like crazy these last couple days, and I'm exhausted. I'm making myself post, but all I really want to do is climb into bed, and go to sleep. If you remember my earlier post, I mentioned about a friend and her 3 children coming to visit on Thursday. My house was in total disarray (sp?), but it's starting to look better now. I'm still not done yet. I anticipate being done one hour before my friend arrives (hopefully).

Leah slept in her crib for the first time today. She fell asleep in my lap, so I layed her in the crib. She woke up (like usual) and started to cry, but I closed the door and went out. I was going to give her 10 min. to fall asleep, but she conked out after about 3 or 4 minutes. The amazing thing was she slept for almost 3 hours. That was the best nap she's had for as long as I can remember.

Lisa - All your ideas are great ones. Thanks for sharing them. First I'm going to see if I can find someplace to make a Clifford cake, if I can't, I'm going to go with your idea about the toy, with the red icing & flowers. I know Moriah would be excited over getting a toy on her cake. The paw prints idea is a good one too. I may just try that.

I wish Leah would only wake up once at night. Lately it seems like she wants to stay attached to me all night. I'm longing for the day when I can have uninterrupted sleep. Will that day ever arrive??

Stephanie - Sorry to hear how Roarke hasn't been feeling so good. I hope his discomfort is only temporary. I'm hoping Leah will be happier once her teeth start to come in. With all the bumps in her mouth, it seems like she'll be getting in quite a few.

I'll be watching the mail!

KimATC - Welcome back! Sorry to hear about the MIL troubles. I can't even imagine leaving our children with my MIL for even an hour, let alone a weekend (not like she'd want to). Even though your MIL did some really annoying things, it must be nice to have a MIL who cares enough to be involved in your lives.

First tooth down for Sydney, many more to come! I hope she hasn't been in too much discomfort.

Lee - My mom would probably cry if I told her I lost 20 lbs. I'm going to be nice to her and not say anything.

Thanks for the recipe links. I'll be checking them out soon. I have a birthday coming up, and I'd like to make myself a LC cake. It's hard finding a recipe that doesn't need something unusual like protein powder, or the Atkins baking mix (stuff I never buy).
Sorry to hear about your two little girls being so sick. I can't even imagine how hard it must be on you. So far, I haven't had anything too difficult to deal with. The worst being vomited on twice in one evening. Even so, I still got a fairly decent nights rest after that. Hang in there hon, spring is only another month or two away. Keep giving those girls of yours plenty of TLC, and eventually they'll get better.

hemthai - We all know about hectic here! I may be a SAHM, but I rarely have a dull moment. I'm glad you're so happy with LC'ing. I could never had any long-term success with a low-fat diet, which why I never tried it before. There are lots of great support groups on this website. There is one on the Challenges board, that is called "Mommies R Us," which is supposed to be really good. Thanks for sharing about yourself and your family. I hope everyone has a great time at Disney Quest!

MaryC

[Lee A]

I read all your posts and I'll reply tomorrow.I'm not as polite as Mary,I'm heading to bed.Kids are still sick,so not much sleeping going on here.Chat with ya tomorrow