This is What Spoiled Looks Like

I am not looking forward to next week... when life goes back to normal and this kid realizes it's not all about birthdays, candy, grandparents, etc. He'll have to come off that high sooner or later, and I can already see the signs... for example, he has been fighting his bedtime worse than ever. He also got a note from school today saying he didn't listen. The teacher said he just wasn't himself. And in general, he likes to say the opposite of everything I say these days. Hmm...

It probably all started Friday when we had 14 kids at our house for an Easter egg hunt. Then one set of grandparents arrived. Saturday morning involved more Easter fun, and then another set of grandparents came. Even though the birthday weekend was intended to revolve around Seth, Ian of course enjoyed the cake, games, and presents, too. And somewhere in the mess of all of this, Daddy left for a business trip which has also thrown us a little outta whack.

This weekend I am headed to a scrapbook retreat. Excitement! So, Seth went home with my parents today. I thought I would take advantage of some alone time with Ian, so we went on a "date." This is where he really starts to get spoiled... I guess I just wanted things to be special, but I fear that he is going to expect the same treatment tomorrow... and the next day... and the next...

We started out at the movie theater. It's been a year since Ian has been, and I didn't even get to take him to his first movie, so I was excited. We saw Rio which was pretty cute, and he did well for the most part. He did ask "why" and "what happened" a lot, and I tried to explain the need to whisper in the movie theater. Thankfully at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday, there were only a handful of people in the theater. I almost lost him when he decided to climb on the chairs and wander down the aisle. But then the plot picked up (he was really concerned about the bird being able to fly), and he plopped back down with his popcorn and behaved for the rest of the movie.

As if the Dr. Pepper we shared at the movie wasn't enough sugar, I decided to go for ice cream afterward. I mean, Coldstone was so convenient to the movie theater and all. In the back of my mind I thought we might end up at Chuck E. Cheese to spend some leftover coins we had from last time. I pretty much figured we needed to work off the sugar rush anyhow. Again, things are not too crowded on Wednesdays, so this went fine. We came home, ate dinner, and then came the dreaded bedtime.

Yeah, that process took an hour, and I am exhausted! That boy BETTER sleep all night long!

The fun doesn't end there. Ian is spending the weekend with his Grandpa Alan who has all kinds of fun activities planned for him (zoo, shooting range, Chick-fil-a, outdoor "chores"). So, like I said, come Monday... things are going to be interesting. Thank goodness John will be back by then!

One Year Ago and Today

Happy Birthday Mr. Seth!

This Just In...

Not sure how with all the birthday goodies at my house, but I managed to lose .6 lbs this past week... for a total of 2.2 lbs overall. Had hoped to be further along at this point, but pleasantly surprised to have not gained with my cupcake consumption this week.

Easter and Birthday

 

Um, you click on the photo to access the picasa album I think.

Aspiration

Well, decorations and goodies are in place for stage one of the birthday weekend. It actually turns out that I am a minimalist when it comes to this party thing. Yep, you read that right. A friend just sent me a link to the ultimate party planner... and her site reminded me of someone else's I ran across a while back. Well, it gives me something to aspire to, that's for sure! I imagine as I continue to host more gatherings and as my boys get bigger, my shindigs might get more elaborate, who knows?

By the way, I am certainly not posting about all this to toot my own horn. It just pulls together a lot of things I enjoy... crafting, hosting, cooking, planning (making lists, checking them off), and spending time with people!

So, here is the ultimate boy's birthday party in my opinion:


Astronaut Training Party

And here are a couple of other parties this gal has thrown for her kiddos. One things she does that I also tend to do is plan out the kids' clothing... Ian and Seth have their matching Easter shirts for this weekend's festivities. Ian had his "Big 12" onesie for his first birthday that I made with iron-on transfers. Ian and I both had matching baseball-style jerseys for our 3&30 party... see I'm getting there! And as a scrapbooker and graphic designer, I could totally roll with this!

There's also I gal I knew back "home" who threw excellent parties. When I went to her blog to see if I could find any of her kids' birthday bashes, I noticed she even set up a blog just for parties!


The Small Town Soiree

There is one thing I'm really bad at when it comes to parties. Taking pictures! It's hard work for the hostess to handle this part, too. Thankfully I've had friends to help with this and hopefully I can get some good pics this weekend. Let the partying begin!

Party Girl!

First things first, I did my weekly weigh-in today, and I did not lose or gain... so still the same from last week. I actually didn't eat as well this past week, so I'm pleased that I didn't gain. But that still means I've only lost 1.6 lbs so far, so I've still got some work to do to meet my goal.

OK, on to a much more FUN topic... PARTIES!

Somewhere along the line I discovered that I really enjoy planning and throwing parties. I haven't done it that much until this past year when we hosted a Christmas party (attended mostly by neighbors and John's coworkers), a combined 3&30 birthday party for Ian and me, and now a fun weekend for Mr. Seth. I do remember having a lot of fun doing Ian's first birthday party, too.

I think one reason I really like this is because I really like THEMES. I love having everything tie in together, and if I can come up with some cute or quirky name for it, all the better! Like for Ian's first birthday, we did a college sports theme with a tailgate party... the Big 12 Months, and we asked for donations to his college fund in lieu of gifts. (And we got about $500 when it was all said and done... that's cash for college, people, not plastic toys!)

For the 3&30 party, the time was 3:30 p.m. The color scheme was brown and aqua with polka dots, and let me tell you, every last detail fit the theme. SO MUCH FUN! While we were having this party, I happened to notice that our friends' kids who attended were all roughly the same age, even the siblings spaced about the same interval apart, and they all seemed to be having so much fun together.

So I decided to take my love for themes and parties to a new level and host monthly playdates. It's called "Brunch-n-Buddies," and I've got some fun things lined up for our upcoming gatherings. This month is Easter and birthday (with yet another theme and party pending) featuring Seth. I also have things planned like Monsters and Muffins (in May... thanks, Dawn!), Dinosaurs and Donuts, PJs and Pancakes, Waterplay and Waffles, etc.

There are a few things that really make this party planning enjoyable for me. First, I love to bake/cook. For the Christmas party, I spent all week making the goodies from scratch. I had a blast decorating the 3&30 birthday cakes. I am reinstating the football-shaped cupcake mold from Ian's first birthday to make Easter egg cupcakes for Seth's birthday. Secondly, I love our home and feel so blessed to have a space that I can use to host guests. Thirdly, I have a supportive husband who doesn't balk (too much) at my obsessive planning, who doesn't really ask questions about the cost, and who brings home the bacon so I can actually buy food and decorations.

So, I'm in party planning mode again this week. The playgroup is coming over on Friday for an egg hunt. Family will be in town to celebrate Seth's birthday... and even though this will be a small gathering for our party, I'm not skimping on the ideas! SOMEBUNNY is turning ONE, ya know!

Hmm, as I was reading back over this post... how it started and how it ended, I realized that my propensity to party may be affecting my ability to lose weight.

Two Weeks In, Two Weeks Out

I was actually out of town on Monday morning, so I didn't do my weekly weigh-in at that time. I try to keep all the "factors" the same... every Monday morning, go to the bathroom, strip down before shower, weigh myself on the same scales each week... So this week's weigh-in that occurred on Tuesday instead showed that I have lost 1.6 lbs. so far. That's 1.2 lbs since last Monday, and it leaves me 8.4 lbs. to go in order to meet my goal. So, I'm two weeks into this thing and glad to see some progress.

Switching gears...

We are two weeks OUT from a certain little man's FIRST birthday! I can't really believe Seth is going to be ONE! The past year has been somewhat of a blur with all that has gone on, but it definitely went by quick. Seth has been sick a lot this winter, but when he is well and happy, he's a pretty fun little guy. He's still crawling and cruising all over the place. He loves to walk around if you're holding his hands, but he is still up on his tiptoes when he does it. Therefore, we haven't made much progress in his walking.

He still eats his table food like a champ. When he's not sick, he'll drink his formula, too, and now he's using a sippy cup almost exclusively! Over the next couple of weeks, we will be transitioning him to milk to see if his tummy can handle it. He has a history of dairy sensitivity, so this will just be trial and error for a little while before we can determine if he's grown out of that or not.

Seth babbles a lot, but not many of his "words" have definite connections. Perhaps his favorite and most consistent is "dada," but don't be fooled! He is definitely a mama's boy! When I enter the room, he either immediately smiles or starts screaming... because he's realized I'm not holding him or meeting one of his needs that he momentarily forgot about while distracted by playtime.

Seth loves to play, of course. He'll chase around a ball, roll it back and forth with you, and well, chew on it. (Six teeth in, two more on the way) He also loves blocks and cars, so he's all boy it seems. And if it's a toy he can push around, he loves that, too. His FAVORITE, though, is going outside! I just wish I could keep him from putting leaves, grass, rocks, etc. in his mouth.

Seth takes pretty good naps and does really well putting himself to sleep... no rocking or elaborate process needed! He still gets up once in the night, though. Sometimes I feed him. Sometimes I just change him. Sometimes I give him tylenol if it's teething-related. He goes to bed around 7-8 p.m. and then gets up for the day around 7-8 a.m. So, it would be nice to get rid of that middle-of-the-night wakeup especially since he shrieks like a BANSHEE when he thinks he needs me.

Seth will have a low-key first birthday party on Easter weekend. We'll have some friends come over on Good Friday for an egg hunt, and then family will be in town for the weekend to help celebrate.

Yes, I Plan These Things

Folks had commented on Seth's cute outfit in the previous post. Well, wouldn't ya know that Ian wore that SAME thing when he had his bluebonnet pics taken two years ago. So, without further ado, here are some more comparison shots of the boys...

Seth April 2011

Ian April 2009

Seth, April 2011

Ian April 2009

Rite of Passage

Well, if you're a kid born in Texas, you know you're gonna have your picture taken in the bluebonnets at some point if not on an annual basis. I took Ian's when he was about 14 months old, and we did family pics last year. I debated on what would be best for this year with Seth joining the family and decided that it should be his rite of passage to have his own pics taken.

Unfortunately, it hasn't been a good year for bluebonnets here in south Texas. I managed to find a scattering of wilty flowers, and we got the job done. Don't be fooled by any smiles in these pictures. Seth has been a very cranky baby lately! I think he appreciated the change of scenery at least.

Yep, and when he was done, he was DONE!

Outside Again

Well, before it gets too hot around here, I guess we better play outside while we still can. Yesterday it hit 90. In early April. NOT FUN. Oh well, I guess that means some water play will be in our near future.

10 in 10 for 10

Remember me? The girl who really likes numbers and themes and all that? Well, I'm at it again. This time I really needed some inspiration. Sadly, I got down to my pre-baby weight (actually a little below, in fact, probably due to the calorie-burning assistance of nursing) back in October, only to have gained about 10 lbs. since then. Well, I want those 10 pounds OFF and preferably before the summer. So, here's the plan:

I would like to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks with the reward of 10 articles of new clothing at the end. My summer wardrobe needs some serious updating including a new swimsuit. I did my first weigh-in last Monday, so this past week was week one. Ten weeks from then essentially puts me at the end of May and the "beginning" of summer. I'm not going to post my actual weight here on the blog, but I will track my progress just to have a little bit of accountability. So, tomorrow morning I should see if we have any loss from this first grueling week.

Grueling, you say? Why yes... first, I had to break a serious sugar addiction. I spent the first part of the week head-achey and somewhat lethargic. I think I am also having to retrain my metabolism from when I was nursing and used to consuming extra calories. I worked out four times this week... two Zumba classes and two kickboxing classes the latter of which totally kicks my butt, so I'll be adding that to the regular routine for sure!

But here's the real kicker. It shouldn't just be about losing these ten pounds now. It really should be about keeping them off, adopting a better/healthier lifestyle. I've had pregnancies to recover from the past several years, but now I have my body back, in a sense... or what's left of it, at least! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out or anything, but I have to realize that I have to accept these new eating and exercising regimes as a lifestyle, not just something to get me to my goal in the next ten weeks.

Wish me luck! I'll try to remember to post my progress tomorrow morning, although I've got to take poor Mr. Seth to an early doctor's appointment. He's been sick all weekend with a pretty high fever. Also, if anyone wants to participate with me, jump on the whole 10in10for10 thing or come up with your own idea, and we can try to keep each other accountable, I'm game!