Angry Phil

Angry Phil (college days)





Happy Phil (current)





Hmmm.... happy most days anyways.

Sorry no cute pictures of Wendell. I guess I haven't taken too many lately.

For a wrap of June, I'd like to share that Phil and I did really good with 30 days of no sweets until this past weekend. Between homemade scotcharoo's, free dessert at a Danish restaurant, and then an assortment of desserts/pop at Pizza Ranch; we both gave in. Sunday was the worst day for me because at Pizza Ranch they have pudding, oreo whip cream dessert, dessert pizza, fountain pop and for the sake of it, dessert pizza again. So, today is our last day and I think we'll survive today and then we'll have to see what happens tomorrow. I will proudly say that I have not baked any homemade desserts or bought ice cream in the past 30 days and that is probably the worst of our addiction. Sunday was the only day I've had pop in the last 30 days and that was only one glass of cherry coke. I'm not sure what our next challenge will be but it will have something to do with snacking at night time. Overall, we've come a long ways compared to 5 years ago and we are pretty healthy eaters now.. fruits and veggies are mandatory at almost each meal.

Another update on napping (Wendell, not me). It's still been a struggle. If I go upstairs and lay down with him then it usually takes about an hour for him to fall asleep. Some days (like today) I just put up the baby gate so he can't leave the room and he plays. I know I should set a routine but it all depends on how much energy I have to give to it each day. I am convinced that he still needs a nap most days so I'm not really willing to give it up totally.

We've been traveling a lot and have a lot more to go but it also means we've been spending some good time with our families. Last weekend, we went to Phil's family back in Guthrie Center and we don't plan to return until Harlie is here. The next few weekends are with my family - Deep River then Des Moines, then Phil runs the Bix in Davenport, then camping up here somewhere with Phil's family.. then Harlie will be expected to arrive.

I'm planning on working right up to when she's born so we'll see what happens with that (labor at 3 in the morning when I'm at work?). I've already started filling out the paperwork for work and my leave time off. Right now, I'm planning to take 10 weeks off, then 4 half weeks, then back full time just in time for the holidays : ( During our road trips, Phil and I have been able to discuss a lot of upcoming events such as time off from work, plans for Harlie's arrival (hospital and at home), and what we need to get before she comes. It's crazy to think of all the decisions we have to make, especially when Phil and I have different opinions on a few minor things. Pretty soon, I will be making my final list before Harlie comes.. clothes, items needed, etc. I'm not quite at the exhausting stage of where I just want her here but I can tell it's coming. I think being busy on the weekends has helped me to keep my mind of all the typical worries which is good.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer. It's nice and cool today with a breeze blowing through our windows which is perfect! I love having my windows open with a bit of a chill in the air... not to cold or not to hot. Well, I think that's all for now!

heat wave

my only comment today is that it's a cooker out there, again. the last few days, pour wendell could hardly get in his car seat without getting burned. it's sad when even the plastic in the car is super hot, metal is unspeakable. our air conditioning is set at 75 but today it might have to go to 70. i woke up to the radio alarm yesterday and the song on was the one with the line "it's getting hot in here.. so take off all your clothes".. i must admit i like that song 'cause i totally agree.. it's getting hot in here so i just might have to take off all my clothes... hope you can stay cool today.

success

wendell is napping! after we read 3 books, i layed down next to him for about 15 minutes, then i made him lay next to me and i gave him a backrub.. must have been good cause it knocked him out. i took a wee nap myself but i'm now up and refreshed and he's sleeping peacefully.. awe.. the joys of success.

we give up...

We didn't give up on the sweets.. we're still doing good on that, but we broke down and turned our air conditioning on this evening. Although Wendell and I spent most of the day out in the pool, when we came in we just couldn't stay cooled off. Wendell spent an hour in his room (upstairs) alone today and he turned off the fan, when I went to check on him he was sweating and his room was 87 degree's.. poor guy, it was so hot especially with no air movement. Wendell and I also played in the pool this afternoon but when we came in to eat supper, I was miserable. Before supper, Phil decides to mow and when he comes in for supper he says it's pretty sad when it's almost cooler outside then inside. So, in order to sleep tonight, we turned on our air. Now that I see the forecast of 88 degree's tomorrow, then I'm not so disappointed. I guess it was bound to happen at some point especially being almost 8 months pregnant. So now as I type, I feel the cool air coming from the vent and I can't wait to go shower and actually feel clean for more than 10 minutes. Cheers to a good night of sleep!

On a side note.. Wendell and napping isn't going so well. At least today wasn't a "battle" but I didn't win either. Basically, I started off by pulling the rocking chair into the hallway so I could be there when he tried to come out, which he did, so I immediately took him back to his bed, I might have told him to stay in bed and lay down. So then he laid in bed for about 20 minutes (while I read a chapter in my book and sat in the hallway), he was goofing off while lying in bed but he wasn't playing with toys so I couldn't complain. After I finished my chapter, I decided I was sleepy so I tried laying down with him (at the foot of his bed) and he continued to lay in bed, goofy off and moving around making it impossible for me to fall asleep (at least no eye poking today). So, I then decided to sit and read another chapter while laying on the bed. Basically, an hour later - he'd been good by staying in bed and "laying" down (he didn't talk to me or bother me) but he hadn't even yawned once. So, I gave up. I simply put the baby gate up and left the room... he got up and played for about 1 1/2 hours in his room and then after he started yelling for "mama", I decided to go up and get him.. finding the poor boy sweating to death. So now Phil and I have to decide if we want to just let him play, which he seems fine with or do we put him back in the crib during nap time since he had been napping just fine. I guess the only good that comes from no nap is that he goes to bed earlier. Pretty soon that will be a battle too...

sneaky little twerp...

Day 1 of the work week: As expected, Wendell has now figured out that his new "big boy" bed has a lot of new freedoms that come with it. Yesterday, I started the nap time process around 12pm, right after lunch. The first half hour he played in his room but was very quiet so I wasn't sure if he had fallen asleep, until he came downstairs and informs me that he had pooped (which he did) so I changed his diaper and made him lay down again. This time, I decide to lay down with him to make sure he stays in bed. With my face right up by his, he finds pleasure in pulling up my eyelid's one at a time so my eyes open up. (Note: this was very cute and funny but not really done at the appropriate time so I quickly tell him "no".) Then after a few minutes of not listening to my "no", I decided to lay in the hallway (on some blankets that needed to put away) while he lies in bed. Little munchkin then starts poking up his head at me and looking to see if I'm looking his way, eventually trying to sneak his way out of bed. After a few minutes of laying on the floor, my pregnant body says it can't take it much longer and and I give up with this tactic. So I then decided to go get my book so I can read sitting on the floor while he's laying in bed but shortly later my pregnant body says -no go- and I'm forced to find a more comfortable position. At this point, I think I decided to give him another shot at staying in bed (as I'm not finding a comfortable position to lie in) so I leave him a lone for a bit to see if he settles down. Did I mention that all this was going on while I was busily distracted with writing my longest blog post from yesterday? So the second time he comes out of his room without my permission, I decided to put up the baby gate in his room with him inside. He cried for a few minutes and then was quiet again.. hmm, could he be asleep?? Heck no, that boy played all afternoon in his room. Finally at 3pm, he decides he's going to try and climb over the baby gate and falls, causing some tears to flow so I think at that point I gave up. (Mainly because we had to leave at 4pm so no more time for a nap). Hmm.. I will need to think of another game plan for tomorrow.

Day 2 of the work week: Interesting change of events. I had a meeting today from 12-1:30 so Phil came home on lunch and he was the lucky one to put Wendell down for his nap. Now, this should be interesting. Will Wendell listen to Phil?.... maybe tomorrow but not today. Phil says that within minutes Wendell was coming downstairs, I'm sure with the intention of skipping the nap entirely. So Phil takes him upstairs and puts up the baby gate... then I come home around 1:30pm from my meeting and Phil leaves. Wendell had been fairly quiet again (sneaky little twerp!) and at about 3pm I hear him trying to climb the baby gate again, and another thud and crying. So being the good mom I am, I go up and check on him. First he announces that he's poopy (which his is) so I changed him diaper and then promptly made him lay down again. Soon, it will be getting too late for a nap but I'm not giving up yet! I have him lay his little head down at the top of the bed and I slink down towards the bottom of the bed and position the comforter so he can't really see me at a glance yet knows I'm there. Note: this is MUCH more comfortable then the floor I sat on yesterday. Within minutes, my munchkin is a sleep.. but the story doesn't end here. I try to slink downstairs when I think he's asleep but I'm not as good as Wendell because the steps creak and I hear crying again meaning it woke him up. So I grabbed my book, layed down in the same position and read for awhile. Luckily, he fell sleep within minutes again. Once he was snoring, I thought I could make my break.. and I did successfully! So, Wendell is currently asleep, in his bed!

We'll see what Day 3 brings, with one success, I have another game plan for tomorrow!

Hope you've enjoyed... let me know how you're experiences have gone with changing from a crib over to a toddler/big bed, and if you have any words of wisdom cause I'm sure the battle isn't over yet.

longest blog post yet?

• I'm expecting this to be my longest blog post yet and I haven't even started yet... the reason? I have completed my major projects for the summer and want to share pictures of all the fun stuff I've been up to...
• These first few pictures are of our house. The main project with this was repainting the bottom white on the outside basement cement blocks. This meant hosing, scraping, caulking and then painting. Phil and I tag teamed this project.
  
  

• This next picture shows more of the basement cement that got painted, as well as, the back porch that needed repainted. It had been painted brown but we chose to go with grey so it'd match the house better. These steps also needed cleaned, scraped, a few fix ups and then paint (they should have been replaced but we're not spending money on that right now).
  

• And the "fun" projects. Phil painted Harlie's room, I hung up the bug stickers and we both arranged it. We're not sure this is how it will stay but it's a good start. It's a bit crowded in there but for now it works.

• This next picture shows the very cute curtain that my mom made. The yellow part has ladybugs on it and the purple is just a solid color. I must admit the curtain turned out very nice.. thanks mom!

• This is just another picture of the room. I'm not sure if you can zoom in and look at the stickers but I think they're really cute.

• This next project was getting Wendell's room rearranged. We are considering repainting his room to a more regular blue instead of the baby blue but we'll wait and see what happens. I was going to put up some car stickers (like in Harlie's room) but now that everything is up, I think it's already "busy" enough so I might not add all the stickers, just a few.

• This is just another picture of Wendell's room.
  
  

• And here is a picture of the cute little bug in his new bed. Over the weekend, he did pretty good with staying in bed but I think now that Phil's back to work then I'll have more of a challenge during nap time. But once he's asleep, he's does pretty good so it'll just be getting him to lay down long enough to fall asleep.

• So I am now closing up all major projects for myself. So far, Phil and/or I have washed windows/blinds/curtains, painted the outside basement of the house, painted Harlie's room, rearranged/organized the upstairs, cleaned out the garage, painted the back steps, and organized the basement. In the past few weeks we've sent well over $200 worth of donations to Goodwill. I told Phil that I feel like we've weeded our home but not pruned it yet, so we have more work but nothing immediate.

• Also, I have made my list of things I need to buy before Harlie comes - like diapers, wipes, diaper bag, etc., but I still need to write down my list of things that I need to take to the hospital, fill out paperwork for leave of absence at work, and I have a few minor sewing projects to do. Phil still needs to clean the carpets, a little bit of painting and maintain the garden. He also wants to do some landscaping so we'll see what happens. Whuuffiie.. I think that's enough for now. I'm ready for summer vacation!

• And this last picture is of me at 31 weeks. It doesn't seem like I'm getting much bigger but I'm definitely gaining weight. Luckily, I haven't had any swelling yet and it hasn't been too hot out. We haven't had to turn our air on but I do run the ceiling fans quite often. I'm sure once it hits 80 degrees then I'll have to turn the air on. My back has been hurting (probably due to all the work I've done) so I've had to slow down on my exercising. Today, I went for a 20 minute walk and called it good. I think I'm just going to get slower and slower (remember I'm a turtle now, not a bunny anymore) .. only 2 months left though and then I'll be up and running again.
  
  

• Just a few other updates on our life. After a long discussion, Phil and I agreed to eat a "planned" dessert yesterday. We had been invited to our Aunt Mary Lou and Janice's for lunch and we knew (before going) that she'd make a delicious homemade dessert. We decided that the whole point of our 30 days of no sweet desserts is to break our habit of ice cream runs and making homemade cookies/desserts. Going to visit family isn't something we do all that often so we felt it was a special treat.... so with being good company we both agreed to indulge in guilt free dessert. And as we assumed, we were served a delicious homemade upside down rhubarb cake with whip cream and ice cream. Now before you say, ahh, enjoy and have some fun.. you need to know that we both had 2 servings of dessert which later we regretted. One serving would have been "allowed" but later we both agreed that 2 servings was unnecessary (yet very tasty!). So Phil and I both have some work to do. Our goal is to eventually have a treat once in awhile, and at that, it needs to be one serving.

• On another note, last week I accomplished a goal that I have been working on for almost 1 1/2 years now. I have completely word for word read the entire Bible. In the beginning, I had decided that my goal was to read the Bible in order to get an overview, not to memorize or understand it all. I'm really glad that I set that goal because there is a lot to chew on when reading through this great book. So now, I'm reading a book about the Bible that simplifies some of the meaning/stories and I must say it helps fill in the blanks. Reading the Bible has been a huge struggle with me because it seems so pessimistic and negative. It seems like every story is about sin, death, and/or rules but I think as I grow and learn more then I'll understand that this book is primarily about God's love for us even when we sin, cause death, and break rules. Basically we cause these things to happen and God cleans up our mess.

• One of these days, I might actually start blogging about my struggles/thoughts as a christian but these deep thoughts are very personal (which means sensitive) so I'm not ready to share with the world. But I have so many thoughts that Phil simply can't keep up with them and they can be quite long winded so I'm not always able to talk with friends about it (especially with young children running around and getting into things). I've had mentors in the past to help me through things but they're always short term.. and for me, studying the Bible and growing as a christian are life long commitments.. not short term.

• Did I not say this would be one of my longest blog post yet?

• Well, I think that's enough for one day, I'm off to check on Wendell, we'll see if he's going to nap today in his "big boy" bed. He's been quiet but I think he's playing up there, we'll see what happens. (sorry if there are grammar errors, I'm too tired to read through it again).

June 10, 2009

Looking at my past posts, it appears that pictures of Wendell's are more of a hit then "Heather's deep thoughts" so to please my readers, I thought I'd start with some fun pictures of Wendell. The first one here is him "helping" me out by sweeping off the porch. This would also be a picture before we repainted it. Oh course, I don't have an "after" picture (even though it's done) so that will have to come in a later post.
This next picture is just our silly little boy who likes to rock himself.. like most kids when they're around a rocking chair. But here with him, is his good friend "bunny". You can see it to the left of him sitting next to him. I'm not sure how long this phase will last but this bunny has been around the world and back with him. He often takes it outside, feeds it, plays with it, and has mom dance with it. I love seeing the imagination that he has when spending time with his bunny, it has been one of the first animals he has used as a "friend" and not just a stuffed animal.

And the last picture is him "helping" again. Phil had put up tape to paint Harlie's room and Wendell wanted to help out. Although Harlie's room is painted, we don't have it quite ready yet. We need to do some rearranging and finish putting the curtains up, then I'll have to post some pictures.

And the last few notes here are just of my random thoughts and updates on life. As of this coming Sunday, I will be 30 weeks along and then just 10 to go. Two weeks ago, I would have to told you that I feel great but reality of back pain, stiffness, and general fatigue are starting to set in and get old. I officially feel like an old person. I think that some of my work projects have taken a toll on how I feel but I feel the need to keep going so I can "just get it done". Luckily, most of the hard stuff is done so I plan to take a few days off from "work" and hopefully let me back recover. I also took a few days off from taking a nap myself and I have realized that it wasn't just sleep time but also time for my body to readjust/realign. So I'm back to nap time and feeling much better.

On another note with pregnancy, people keep asking if I'm ready. I think that I have most of what I need but the other day it occurred to me that we might want to buy some diapers. So in the past few days, I've been thinking of the "little things" that need to be done. Like washing baby clothes and getting them put away, getting the cradle ready, and thinking about "labor". I don't really know what to expect with labor since Wendell's birth was kind of odd so even though I don't plan to take Lamaze classes again.. I feel like I should look through the books and start talking with my doctor about what to expect for the "big day".

Just another update on "30 days off sweets". Phil and I are going strong and have not indulged in a dessert yet. I would say that I'm almost "broke" of my habit/addiction. I don't pine/crave the typical ice cream run or afternoon cookie snack. I will say last Saturday was one of the hardest days for me because I had worked outside and was just plum tired.. so naturally I wanted some ice cream. But I came up with an alternative solution and made myself a smoothie with just some yogurt and fresh fruit (no sugar added). If I hadn't had a big supper (yummy steak!), I would have added nuts and cereal to it but I didn't feel the need for it. On a interesting note, Phil had made a run to Goodwill that night and I told him that I might have to indulge in some ice cream while he was gone. I just wanted to fess up ahead of time but wouldn't torture him by eating it in front of him. He called me while he was on his way home and said he was going to have some ice cream too.. I informed him that I was making a smoothie instead and he said that sounded good and requested I make enough for two.... so, close call for us, but once again it shows my influence on what Phil eats! Phil and I discussed this morning what our plan is after our 30 days is up.. and other than a good ice cream treat we may need to tackle our next challenge and that is replacing mindless snacking with small portions of healthy snacks.

So, that's about all that's new with us. I know there are other things I could ramble on about like work, weather, and family but it sounds like Wendell is up from his nap, so I better go!

no sweets - day 3

Today, we completed day 3 of no sweets and we've had a few tests. First off, we have ice cream in the freezer which I still haven't taken down to the basement freezer. Technically, I see that ice cream everyday but in my mind it's just not an option so I don't really notice it when I look in the freezer. We've also had company (who shall remain nameless) who has eaten ice cream in front of us and also requested I make some chocolate brownies on more than one occasion. But our guest was good and respected my request of not buying treats while out shopping (which is a regular occurrence when they visit).

Today was the biggest test.. we opted to eat out for supper and went to KFC. No big deal but going to KFC is one of the rare times that I usually splurge and drink Mountain Dew, but I was a good girl and opted for tea instead. I even turned down the lemonade and sierra mist which would have been much healthier than Mountain Dew. When Phil and I were done eating we both agreed that we weren't exactly "full" and he suggested we stop at Mc D's on the way home (whenever we're near a Mc D's we usually get an ice cream cone). Amazingly, I declined, and he shortly later said he didn't even think about it being ice cream (a sweet treat) that we'd get. Walking out of KFC made me take a moment and think about my addiction to sweets vs. habits of eating sweets vs. a simple desire to have a treat. Driving down Kimball Avenue and not stopping for ice cream is VERY usual for us so it made me think, do I really want/need ice cream? or has it been just habit to stop and get it? It was one the first times I realized that some "sweet treats" have really just become habits for us.. not something we really crave/desire to eat.

Another habit I've realized that I have is that I like to snack, especially in the afternoon and at night. It wouldn't be a big deal but I'm really not hungry.. and like sweet treats, I see that it's a habit to snack/eat.. not out of hunger, desire, or need. The last few days my afternoon snacks have been fruit so they are healthy but it still doesn't answer the question of.. is a healthy snack okay, even if I'm not hungry? Or, what is the smallest reasonable amount to eat at meal time so that I'm slightly hungry for the next meal? Although it wasn't planned, I have also been careful to try and not replace my sweet snacking for salty snacking. So although I do eat some chips, popcorn, and nuts.. I have tried to limit it to a healthy serving size.

Even though I'm pregnant, I really want to teach my body to eat when I'm hungry, not just to eat. And to eat enough at meal times to get me to the next meal/snack but not still be full or starved for the next meal. And to eat a treat once in awhile, not out of habit.

In reality, this will be a life long battle.

On a side note, with God's grace, I have the exercise battle down for now. I still exercise regularly and mostly look forward to it. Sadly, this is the first week that I am not planning to go for a jog. It has gotten to where it hurts my back even when I go for short amounts of time so I'm done running until the baby comes. I do walk though and I push myself to keep my heart rate up for at least 30 minutes. I also have a work out video that helps with stretching/flexibility.. something that I miss since growing a mound. I still dream of doing a triathlon next year.. just not sure of the swimming aspect. I love to swim leisurely but I'm not sure I could swim in a dirty lake with many other people splashing me, and I'm not sure where or when I'd train.

One more side note.. I'm starting to realize how much I influence what Phil eats. Although Phil has his little snacks he likes, I'm the one who started the ice cream runs.. I'm the one who makes the cookies.... and I'm the one who makes the menu/grocery list. So, I guess, I need to think about how this affects him (and Wendell) too.. not just myself.

Enough for now.. 3 days down, 27 to go....

no sweets for 30 days??

So last Friday, Phil says he's going off delicious homemade (and not so homemade) sweets for 30 days. So I figure what the hey.. I do need to start getting back to a more self controlled diet. We'll see what happens... not sure I can make 30 days but it's worth a shot trying. We did finish up some homemade lemonade tonight at supper but other than that I haven't had any sweets today.. and funny thing, I think making up my mind to do it was the hard part. Now that I've "decided" that I'm not eating sweets, I'm not really craving it. Of course, I'm only on day one. We make up our own "rules" and I am allowing a few things.. like yogurt and cereal. We have one "challenge" on our hands and that's the container of yummy "candy bar" ice cream that's sitting in the freezer. Maybe I should move it downstairs to the deep freeze so it's harder to get to.. out of sight, out of mind? I'll keep you updated on how I do.. might need a little prayer sent my way : )