Lilly I Am?

Let me set the scene for you.  Lilly is obsessed with the Dr. Seuss book Green Eggs and Ham, having us read it to her every night at least once.  She knows all of it, forward and backward.  Next, Vinnie had purchased a small bag of Sour Patch Kids and I had given Lilly the last few in the bag.  

Lilly asked me if the white stuff in the bag was snow and I said, "No it is sourish sugar."  She proceeded to lick the sour patch kid and dip it into the sugar and eat it.  Needless to say, she loved it.  She then offered one to me...a pre-licked, dipped sour patch kid.  I politely declined because, frankly, the only time I really liked sour patch kids was when I was pregnant with Lilly.  She then said, "Here Mommy, try it, you'll like it.  Try it and you may I say."  

How could I turn that down?  And you know what, I did so like that sour patch kid!

a life changing mop?

Can a new mop change my life?  It might be debatable but it could certainly make my life easier and my house cleaner!  Confessions of a Chaotic Housewife is hosting a giveaway for the new Rubbermaid mop that uses whatever cleaner you already use and microfiber pads.  I love that it is easy to use, does not require special cleanser and apparently the floor dries hella fast!  I think my floor mopping would increase and my floors would be way cleaner!

the scale and whatnot

If you follow my blog (I hope someone says yes!) then you will know that I was attempting to follow Weight Watchers.  I say attempting because I was only really doing it full heartedly for a few weeks.  I would do well for a few weeks and then fall off.  Then I would get back into it but then stop mid-week or something.  There was always a reason why I was not counting points that day or following it exactly.  Or I would start counting the points and then I would get a bit psycho about it.  Only to myself, mind you, but I hated feeling that way, so then I would stop.  i would weigh myself every day, multiple times a day and I would allow the results to dictate how I felt about myself.  I decided not to renew my membership, even after I saw both my SILs who are following WW and doing an AWESOME job!  (Go Kelly & Gina!) I have realized that after trying WW 3 or 4 times that it really might not be the plan for me.  

You will also know that I had fallen off the exercise wagon.  I was doing some Wii stuff but nothing regular and I was not utilizing my gym membership.  Last week I started back to the gym and I have been going regularly.  And it feels amazing.  I mean, I am a bit sore but I am so happy to be back.  I was thinking that I was going to be embarrassed that the guys who work there would know that I was MIA for so long.  I am not.  I am not worrying about what other people think of me.  I might have to remind myself of that every once in a while but I am not letting it get to me.  I am concentrating on cardio and my ab exercises (which I learned in PT to help my back) and stretching.  I am hoping to do yoga again soon, but for now I am just incorporating poses into my post-workout stretching.  I need to build up the strength in my wrists before I start really doing anything with weights again, so plank, table, and downward facing dog and cat/dog are perfect for that.

Here is the big thing: I am not getting on the scale.  I slipped last week at one point and I could really tell how it mentally brought me down for a few hours.  Besides that one slip, I have not weighed myself in about a month.  I feel crazy good about myself right now.  I know that I did not lose all the extra pounds in one week at the gym, but I just feel better about myself.  I am a little bit firmer perhaps and my legs always get definition quickly.  The main thing is how my state of mind has been able to remain positive. Even this morning I was feeling so good about myself and like maybe I even lost a few pounds so I thought, "Maybe I will just step on the scale and see."  I resisted because if I stepped on the scale and I had not lost any pounds I risked losing my positive outlook.  Maybe someday I will be able to step on a scale without it affecting how I feel about myself that hour/day/week.  But until then, I have sworn off the scale!

Now I just have to remember all this when the going gets tough and work starts back up September 1st. 

S'mores Smiles :0)

I have always been a s'mores lover.  A perfect s'more has all the perfect elements: toasted, gooey marshmallow, slightly melting chocolate and the crunchy graham cracker.  I am not sure I remember when I first had a s'more, but I am sure it was one on one of the many camping trips I took with my family as a child.  I was a Girl Scout and s'mores are a Girl Scout Camp tradition.  As my brothers and I got to be a little older we would all go camping together.  Some of my best memories of those trips are from when we were sitting around the campfire at night, singing along with Jeremiah playing the harmonica, drinking a few cold ones and eating s'mores.  It really did not get much better than that, in those days.  


These days my s'mores making is a little different.  My husband has never camped (though he said he will give it a try!) and I am not anxious to try bringing my husband for the first time with a 2 year-old.  A couple weeks ago I was in the mood to go camping, and what says "camping" to me more than anything? S'mores!  So we made them over our grill and they really did make me smile.  It was definitely not the same experience, but the taste brought me right back to those wonderful times sitting around a campfire with friends and/or family.  


So why write about S'more now?  Because I am writing this for a contest to win a S'mores prize pack as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.  (So I guess my answer would be E. Just because) So check out Kraft to see how you can win some prizes.  What is your favorite s'more memory or way to enjoy s'mores?


edited to add: I was a winner so I will be receiving my S'mores smiles gift pack...yummy!

the gym

I went to the gym tonight for the first time in, I don't know, forever.  It was just one of those things that I did not got for a few days because I was super tired.  Then it was hard with Vin being in school 2 nights a week so the only time I could really go meant that we never saw each other.  Then I had toe nail surgery.  Then I sprained my ankle.  In between Lilly would be sick.  I just stopped going.  Because, you know the feeling, I was embarrassed to go back and I was feeling fatter and more out of shape than ever.  Tonight I left Lilly's room before 9pm, which is a huge feat as of late.  So instead of making up the excuse that it is too late and that I won't have time to do a full workout, I was just going to go.  And I did.  I did the elliptical for 25 minutes and I worked it hard.

A woman who I would often see at the gym was also there.  I noticed that she may have lost a few pounds or toned up a bit.  I was tempted to have a pity party that I too would have lost weight if I had continued going to the gym.  But I stopped it in its tracks and decided to think that I can also lose some weight if I continue to workout regularly.  Hooray for me!  That small change in thinking is a big change for me.  

I was doing some working out on the wii and have increased my activity just by being home for the summer.  However, I strongly feel that I need to go to the gym for that mental break.  I could work out in  my house, but there are other things I could also be doing.  (Cleaning up from dinner, laundry, vacuuming, reading for work, you catch my drift)  At the gym, I plug my ipod in and GO!  It helps clear my mind and my stress and rids my mind of feelings of being overwhelmed.  If only they had babysitting....

A sigh of relief

We had the neurologist appointment to find out the results of all the studies that were done a few weeks ago.  Everything came back completely and wonderfully normal!  She has simple febrile seizures and we just have to stay on top of any rise in temperature, as little as it may be.  Thank you everyone for the thoughts, prayers and well wishes.

Potty Training

Oh lordy....we are in full potty training mode at the Cappiello house.  The funny thing is that Lilly has been  going on the potty since she was about 19-20 months.  It was not all the time, but there was some consistency, i.e. before and after bath.  She would even tell me sometimes and I would race her to the bathroom and she would go.  She stopped a lot of that after some of her seizures in recent months.  I think going on the potty took a back seat, which was fine.  Still, when she poops she tells me and she wants to get changed immediately.  Randomly in the past few weeks she would tell me that she had to go potty, even in places like the grocery store.  Sure enough she would go when I would put her on.  And frankly, I wanted to train her during the early part of the summer so that she has a chance to become very successful before she gets to school (daycare) in the fall.

So I have been staying at home with her so that we do not chance a pee pee accident in the car.  It has actually worked out rather well because we are in the middle of a pretty crazy heat wave her in the Northeast.  It hit 104 or so the other day!  Lilly is doing well.  Today is day 3. She will pee a tiny bit and then tell me she has to go potty and we run to the potty and she goes.  So she is catching herself before it starts running down her leg.  That is better than she did the first day so we have made real progress in 2 days.  Of course she has waited for nap time when she wears a diaper to poop.  I have a feeling that we might encounter some resistance with that portion.

In other news...I think that we are both adjusting to being home together.  In the beginning of the summer vacay she wanted to nurse all the time, especially when laying down for nap.  She has not nursed for nap time in ages, unless she was ill.  But I guess she was thinking, "You are home, I am home, let's nurse!"  Unfortunately for Lilly I was not on the same wavelength.  It took a few days of crying before she eventually fell asleep but she is doing really well with going right in now.  And when she awakens she plays in her room quietly for a bit.  Lilly has also been waking up later in the morning and staying in her room and playing.  This has been delightful!  The first few days that Vin left for work without taking Lilly to school she cried and cried.  The poor thing had no idea why Daddy was leaving without her.  She is over that by now, too.  We have a follow up doctor's appointment next week with the neurologist so I will give that update then.

Wish me success in potty training and stay cool everyone!

Baby on the Brain?

A friend of mine is going through a miscarriage and she has an amazing outlook on the entire situation.  She has basically said what will be, will be and if another baby is in their future, then it will happen.  Besides sorrow for her and her family, her outlook caused me to question some of my own recent thoughts.

Here is my not-so-secret secret...I really, really want to have another baby, like, now.  If I had been hired on permanently at my last position, getting pregnant now would probably be in the cards.  I would have also considered trying for #2 if I did not get a full time job.  I would get as much consulting work as I could and go from there.  But the fact remains that I did (HOORAY!) get a full time, permanent position for which I am grateful and inordinately pleased.  And that also means that we need to wait before having another baby.

I have always wanted to have a big family....maybe 4 or 5 kids.  As I got older and I was not married I trimmed that number down.  After Lilly was born I finished graduate school as you all know and money was very tight at that time.  In fact, it is just now that we are starting to have some breathing room.  I would like to have a lot more breathing room before we have another baby.  I really do not want to start a job (that is only 10 months to begin with) and need to leave early for maternity leave.  That means we would have to plan it so that I would be due in the summer time when I am off.   I know all about best laid plans, but I suppose a good plan is better than none.  The good thing about waiting, besides having more money and getting my career on track, is that it gives me time to lose some weight.

The other thing is that Lilly is already 2 y.o.   I always thought that I would want my children to be 2-2.5 years apart.  My brother and I are 4 years apart so I know it is not a terrible thing, but I do feel that my brothers, who are all closer in age to each other were closer growing up.  Plus, I am 35.  I know that women have babies even into their 40s, but I don't know, I just don't want to do that.

 Am I just being a complainer?  Well, even if I am, it is my blog...ha ha!  Honestly, I am just processing everything and I think that is normal.  I know that things will work out the way they are supposed to and that there is a reason for everything.  After all, Lilly was not planned and she is the best detour my life has ever taken!

My first homemade pie

Look at how plump those berries are!

My mom reminded me that I used to help her all the time, but this was my first completely from scratch pie.  Well, I did have a little help from Lilly!  I was going to make it for our bbq on Saturday but I did not want to rush myself and we were short on time as it was.  I was prompted to make this pie because of the gorgeous blueberry harvest this year.  NJ is the blueberry capital of the world, or if it is not, it seems that way!  Here is an interesting article recently published about NJ blueberries.  This year's blueberries are plump, sweet and firm.  I think between the three of us we are going through a pint a day.  This week at our local grocery store they were 4 pints for  $5 making it an even sweeter deal!

Isn't it pretty?

I decided to use Martha Stewart's recipe from the Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  The crust proved to be easier than I expected.  There were a few little things that happened this time with the rolling out that I can learn from for next time.  And the filling, well that was just as easy as...pie!  I even used a star cookie cutter for that 4th of July decorative touch.  The pie itself was scrumptious!  But seriously, the blueberries were the real stars and I could just taste how delicious they were with every bite.  The crust was flaky and light and did not compete with the filling.  Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and served still warm....it was heaven!

Too much TV?

I have always been the type to have something on while I am home, whether it be the TV, radio, etc.  Even when writing a 20 page research paper I needed the TV on.  And to be perfectly honest, that is how I have remained, even with a little one in the house.  Lately I know it has been getting a bit out of control because Lilly always wants the television on now.  What it came down to was that  I needed Lilly to be able to watch a show or two so that I could get dinner ready after getting home from a full work day.  And when she is not feeling well, we let her watch her favorite Little Bear because it always makes her happy.  I know, I know, it sounds like I am making excuses, and maybe I am.

However, summer is here and I am home with Lilly for two months, minus a few days here and there.  I have formulated a plan of sorts.  My plan is to let her watch some, Sesame Street or the like, in the morning while we eat breakfast.  Let's face it, I am not at my best until I am a little awake and have imbibed some coffee.  Additionally, I am planning on doing some early morning chores that I have generally left for later in the day.  So if I can unload the dishwasher, etc. while making aforementioned coffee, I will be ahead of the game.

Then during the witching hour we might put on a little Fresh Beat Band or Yo Gabba Gabba.  That is when I can get dinner started.  Obviously things might change based on weather or if she gets sick (please don't get sick!) or if I just need a little break!

You might be asking what prompted this.  Lilly and I came downstairs this evening after we had been putting away laundry.  Vinnie had gone to pick up the pizza and the TV was not on.  Today was a beautiful day in the Northeast and I had the windows open to let in the fabulous breezes.  Lilly sat at the coffee table with some markers and a coloring book and all of a sudden I heard it.  The silence.  I have become so accustomed to background noise that its absence was just delightful.  I realized in that moment that I wanted to cut down on my need for the TV and radio.  I will keep you all updated on how I am doing with this new undertaking.  I think I will find a lot more time to get stuff done!