10 on Tuesday

1. What did you do this weekend?

We did a lot! Friday night I went over Lauren's house to visit and meet brand new baby Aubrey who was born on February 19. It was nice to hang out with the girls, munch on some food, and just relax (and of course enjoy some Abby time while there too!). Sean and Aidan went to Mr. Kingsway where Cait was escorting Mr. December. Saturday we did some straightening up, I ran to Deptford for a few returns/errands, and then that night we went to see Jason play at Auburn Road Winery. It was great to finally be able to see him, between being pregnant and having a newborn we haven't seen him much, and there was no excuse since he was playing early and less than 20 minutes away. There was a great turn out and he was great as usual. Oh, and the wine wasn't so bad either. Sunday morning was church, then in the afternoon was the Rite of Election. Since I'm going through the RCIA program to get confirmed, all candidates and catechumens went to the Rite and heard beautiful music that reminded me of a Mexican vacation at times and met the Bishop. That was the really cool part. After that, we went back to Steph and Brian's for dinner. Whew! This could have been a longer post in itself! 

2. Do you prefer short fingernails or long fingernails?
I prefer short.

3. What is your favorite use for Pinterest?
Dreaming? Wasting time? Too bad I don’t have endless time, space, money, and sweet DIY skills.

4. Do you sleep with your mouth open?
Pretty sure the only time I do is when I'm sick.

5. Where did you have the best pizza you’ve ever eaten?
I'm a huge fan of Mack & Manco's down in Ocean City.

6. What do you eat for breakfast on weekdays?
Usually oatmeal, but Sean has been kindly making me a yummy and quick coffee cup scramble (2 eggs, scrambled, made in the microwave.).

7. Do you watch awards shows? Why or why not?
Eh, sometimes, but I don't make it a point to put them on.

8. Can you whistle? Snap? Curl your tongue? Bend down and touch your palms to the ground?
Whistle: yes, not very loud
Snap: yes
Curl my tongue: yes
Bend down and touch my palms to the ground: on a good day

9. What email service do you use?
My real and important mail goes to Gmail, but junk goes to Yahoo. And then there's Outlook for work. Sheesh. 

10. What is your favorite outdoor activity?
Sitting in a beach chair. A close second is taking the kids for a walk preferably on the boardwalk.

{Aubrey Grace born 2.19.12}

{My favorites: Kind Of Blue & Blessington}

My thoughts on life right now:

Okay, so now that I've done this great post. Great because it has photos. I need to go back and add photos into all the posts that I haven't added them to {Christmas, Abby's milestones-4,5,6, and anything else}. Oh, and I also really want to get back into blogging at least once or twice a week. I have been away from the computer for a while, which while a nice break, I miss writing all this non-sense down. It can be kind of therapeutic sometimes, and we all need that. 

6 months old

Wow! Time flies! I can't believe that Abby is 6 months old. In just 6 short months we'll be celebrating her first birthday. That kind of makes me sad. I wish I could hit a pause button and enjoy every little smile, giggle, cuddle, and moment with her even the 3am feeding. I've already started brainstorming ideas for her 1st birthday.

At her check up, she was:
16 pounds {50th percentile}
25.75 inches {50th percentile}
42cm head (I think) {58th percentile}
She checked out as healthy as can be again and we feel very blessed about that.

Here's what she's been up to in the past month:

• ticklish~especially on her belly and neck
• sits supported, usually falls to right side
• yells, laughs, babbles
• eats cereal
• first veggies were peas and sweet potatoes, she prefers cereal
• tries to grab Toby at all opportunities
• gives us great big open mouth kisses
• holds out her arms to reach for us
• still nursing, and weaning might be harder than continuing at this point
• getting up around 3am to nurse, but then goes right back to sleep
• loves the Jumperoo
• tries to grab everything nearby
• always smiling

My thoughts on life right now:

I seriously can't believe she's 6 months old. Wow.

I really, really need to take some time and get pictures uploading. I've got loads of blogs to fill with pictures! 

10 on Tuesday

1. How do you feel about Groundhog’s Day?
I think it is fun for little kids and kind of ridiculous how some adults take it so seriously. I mean, Spring doesn't come until 6 weeks later anyway, right? 

2. What color are your fingernails right now? 
I guess you could call it au natural.  

3. Do you like riddles?
It depends. Sometimes they are just annoying.

4. When you were 10, how old did you think “old” was? At your current age, how old do you think “old” is?
When I was little, I probably thought an “old” person was 50. Now I think it depends on the person. Someone can be old at 60, but others can be old at 90.

5. Do you wish on stars?
Yup.

6. Do you recycle?
Yes.

7. On a scale from 1-10, how good of a cook are you?
Maybe like a 7. I’m not very confident in my skills, nor do I usually have what I need to actually cook something.

8. Do you color your hair? Professionally or at home?
I stopped doing it at home when I was getting it all over the place, even in rooms that I didn't dye my hair in. So now I get it done professionally maybe four times a year.

9. One a scale from 1-10, how do you rate your manners?
About a 7. I could work on them a bit.

10. Who are the last 5 people you have texted?1. Cait
2. Meg
3. Sean
4. Lauren
5. Kathy

Weigh In Wednesday

Weight loss to date: 39 pounds {yay!}

BMI: 24.2 ~ Good to be in the "normal" range. 

Weight left to lose: 6 pounds 

First Goal: 25 pounds {Reached: 9.14.11} 

• Reward: Coach Baby Bag {got it and love it!} 

Second Goal: 35 pounds {Reached: 12.18.11} 

• Reward: a few new clothing items 

Final Goal: 45 pounds 

• Reward: originally thought some new clothes, but I'll be happy that my old ones fit!

Success: I'm actually fitting into work pants I haven't worn in years, literally. I can run for 15 minutes without stopping. I signed up for my very first 5k. It's the Phillies Charities 5k and is on March 31st. Right now I'm feeling pretty unprepared, but I've got a little time. I checked in with the nurse at the gym last month and this month and I lost 3 pounds and a decent amount of inches. I can see a little more definition to my waist. People have noticed the weight loss, some just in my face, others as the whole body. I'm feeling healthier.  

Set-Backs: I still don't eat as well as I could. I tried cutting back on calories and noticed a decrease in breast milk, so I upped the caloric intake again. I really need to eat healthier, and cooking more often would be a solution to improving my eating habits. I still have this damn muffin top. Seriously, I can feel my ribs and see definition up by them and above where my "waist" is. But below the waist near my belly button is just flab. Ugh, it's so annoying. And now I'm kicking myself for not taking better care of myself when I was pregnant with Aidan, wishing I didn't get pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure, wishing I didn't gain 65 pounds and stretch my skin out. Oh well. I'm on the road to healthy now. There's no looking back.    

Exercise: I've been getting a good workout in at least once a week. I've also been walking a lot more at school. I'd love to get to the gym twice a week and do Zumba at home once a week. I'm just so tired once Abby is in bed that I'm not far behind her. Maybe once the weather is nice I can take the kids for a walk after school.  

Sean noticed some of my weight loss, and even though he didn't say anything specific until I started talking about it generally, I was happy to hear he noticed it too. I've got to keep up the loss though. And I really need to start running or else I'm going to come in last in the 5k! :)  

My thoughts on life right now:

Just not enough time in the day.