New Family Photos and a Mini Blog Makeover

So I am the mean mom who made her kids get all dressed up in their Christmas best to sit still and quiet and smiley on Halloween. It was GREAT! Three employees all to ourselves at what is usually a pretty happening Sears portrait studio. Apparently most people don't consider it very "festive" to have their Christmas pictures taken on Halloween.

These photos aren't the most incredible match for an autumn leaves blog background, but as soon as the turkey's been devoured it will just be smashingly full of holiday cheer here at the Memoirs. And the photos will coordinate so nicely with the holiday reds and greens, don't you agree?


Here I thought this picture (which I edited to separate us for the sidebar) made us look young as if we were getting engaged all over again. I won't tell you what Mr. Bloomers response was to my suggestion, but I will say he didn't seem to agree.

PS Happy belated eleventh anniversary Mr. Bloomers! I love and adore you.

Stream of Consciousness: Thoughts of a Two and a Half Year Old Boy

An email I sent to Mr. Bloomers today read:

Subject: Your son

just built a tower of legos.

"I'm building a big gun."

"Lovely."

"Do you like my big gun Mom? Pchoo. Pchoo."

"Yes, well, we don't shoot people though, right?"

"We only shoot bad guys. That right Mom? We just shoot the bad guys [sinister voice]."

"Okay."

[Quiet for a minute.]

"Pchoo. Pchoo. I shoot you Mom."

"Yeah, except I'm not a bad guy."

"Yes you are. Can I take my legos to school to show Alma?"

"I don't think that is a very good idea."

[Takes gun apart and puts pieces in box.]

[Singing] "Open and shut. Open and shut. Open and shut. Fold them in your lap. Heav'ly Fader. Thank thee. In name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

[Pulls on bathing suit with floaties built in.] "These are my underpants. Bye Mom!"

[Comes back. Picks up mail from your Dad.] "This what the mail truck brought us. I will read it. [singing] Old MacDonald had a farm E I E I O. And on that farm he had a pig. E I E I O. With a [snort, snort] here, and a [snort, snort] here."

And this is the message Mr. Bloomers returned to me:

Love that kid. I don't think you are a bad guy.

Visitors: Part 1

We have actually had family come visit us!! YEAH!!!

In September my studly little brother came to visit with his wife and son. I'd like to pretend he came just to see me, buuuut, he is applying to MBA school and was really here to visit Northwestern and the University of Chicago. Since we provide free lodging plus the use of a vehicle, and we are just such a charming family, Wills, Steph, and the darling Baby B took up residence in our basement for a few days.


(Of course a large part of my self-interested self not-so-secretly hopes that Wills is only accepted at the schools here, but my great confidence in his brilliance and stellar academic record and impressive work contributions give me little hope that this will be the case.)


I am so sad to report that this was only the FIRST time I had been lucky enough to see Baby B in person. And he is just as darling as I thought he would be, with very doting parents.


Baby B and Princess bonded over the push-car. It was a perfect match, as he only wanted to sit, and she only wanted to push.


We took a trek into the city where I proved the fact that I should never quit my day-job to become a tour guide. We took a scenic jaunt up Lakeshore Drive after I botched our entrance into the parking garage, just to give one example of my lack of skill in city navigation.


After finally locating the parking garage, we spent some time in Millenium Park. The kids had such a great time at Crown Fountain, that we actually had to run into Old Navy for some dry attire.


My public apologies to poor Wills and Steph who became abandoned with my unraveling children whilst I was held captive by a stuck elevator.


The kids bounced back when their kind aunt and uncle agreed to dinner at Rainforest Cafe, one of their favorite places. Every table there seemed to be celebrating a birthday. It was awesome.


Thanks for coming to see us Will and Steph! We only wish we got to see you more often. You and that adorable nephew of mine are just awesome. We love you!

Inevitable

That with four daughters, someday someone would choose to play Salon Girl. On themselves. With scissors meant for cutting paper.


The real shocker, is that this child would be the culprit.




Little Mommy has a bestest friend in our neighborhood named K. K is a darling little light-blond headed sweetheart who I think people assume belongs to me when she is out with us.


Now Little Mommy and K have matching hair.


And at least that made them happy.

(PS I am still sitting here calling that darling girl a Turkey for pulling such a stunt. And I let the siblings have suckers at the hair cutting place. Except. Not. Pretend Salon Girl. I am not ready to encourage her cosmotologist skills. Not at age four. Good thing that daughter of mine is so darn sweet and adorable! Missing out on a measly dum dum is hardly a punishment when considered in combination with a trip to be pampered at the salon. Turkey!)

Five Days

Most days in a row I have not run since I was injured in May. This after a 28-mile week to make up for the previous 22-mile week.

Bubonic Plague, or possibly its cousin the Wilbur flu (think Charlotte's Web...so much gentler a name than the currently popular s. flu), or quite possibly some other spiteful yet uncreatively-named virus has infiltrated our home. The Actress and the Artist fell first, followed by me, and then Little Mommy. We have been down and out with fevers, aches, sore throats, coughs, runny noses, stuffy noses, headaches, and nausea. (Did that almost sound like a Nyquil ad?)


On the bright side, in putting together the Artist's All About Me scrapbook for her reign as first grade Star of the Week (conveniently scheduled for this week when she has been home with aforementioned plague), I rediscovered this priceless gem of a photo. She was too embarrassed to use it in the book where her school friends would see it (tragedy, no?), so I am posting it here because it is just SO awesome...and rockin', I might add. Enjoy!!!

Safety Town

The Artist officially graduated from Safety Town this summer, which means she should know all about how to be safe...from bicycle safety, to fire safety, to animal safety and more.

The leader of her group must have graduated from Safety Town himself last year. Seriously, am I that old? This kid is supposed to be around 14 but I swear he looks 8.


The buildings in the town are so cute! And perfectly scaled for kids.


Apparently Princess didn't want her picture taken with this house.


Now all of the kids know how to dial 911. And they even know what a pay phone is! (Not that they could probably find one if they needed one. How the world has changed!)

My Whole Body Makeover

I struggle immensely with pre-partum depression, but the first four times around I felt great again by 2 weeks post-partum. After Princess, this was not the case. My depression affected my eating, which affected my depression. I wasn't sleeping well either, and I had only recently begun to try and exercise regularly again.

A concerned family member had suggested in a lengthy and heartfelt email that I get some meds for depression. Though I would never judge another person's choice to go this route as there are times when this is wholly appropriate, I did not feel like this was the answer for me. I felt that I needed to make my physical body a priority, especially in regards to regular exercise. Of course eating and sleeping needed attention too.

On Valentine's Day I woke up with a new motivation and strength to do what I was feeling inspired to do. I was unhappy with my attempts to lose weight that had only seemed to result in losing and regaining the same 10 pounds, and I felt I needed help to get my eating back on track, for both weight loss and general health. I looked up the nearest Weight Watchers meeting and told Mr. Bloomers I would be leaving in less than an hour to attend.

Weight Watchers was great. I had done it before years earlier, and love the program because it teaches healthy responsible eating of real regular food--a lifestyle change rather than a quick temporary fix. Within 9 weeks I had lost about 20 pounds and was feeling better.

At this point, I quit Weight Watchers to save the money, but kept doing it on my own. I still eat what my family eats, but I do think about points most days even though I no longer write down everything I eat or religiously track points. If we get Pizza Hut, I eat one slice with lots of veggies rather than 3 or 4 slices. I am careful in my portioning, and I try to really focus on foods that give a lot of bang for the buck...meaning nutritional value for the calories. It probably took me 6 months to get to the point where I feel so good eating such a healthy diet that I generally choose the healthy eating because I want to rather than because I am forcing myself to.

When I read success stories, I like to know the numbers, don't you? I am 5'4". When I started Weight Watchers in February, I weighed about 177. Five kids in less than eight years, plus stress-eating for moves, job changes, grad school for Mr. Bloomers, etc. had taken its toll in a big way. I was a size 14. Fast forward to today. I weigh about 132, and wear a size 4.

Now I haven't been a size 4 since high school, and though healthy eating has helped me find a healthy weight, I have to give the credit for my current body to a recently developed passion for running, especially since I stopped actually trying to lose weight a couple of months ago when I was a size 6.

For most of my life I hated running, but I think that is because I never got good enough at it to enjoy the benefits. This isn't to say that I am that fast or that I will be doing any record setting, but I am in good shape and enjoy most of my runs.

I now run about 25 miles a week, either outside at the crack of dawn, or on the treadmill at home or the gym whenever I can get the chance. I do run while my other kids play in the basement, so long as Princess is napping as she isn't old enough to have the sense to keep her distance.

Though I occasionally have depressed kinds of days, my mind and heart are healthy again. Running has been so great for my mental health. I enjoy my blessings so much more. I feel stronger and healthier and have more energy. I feel greater adoration for Mr. Bloomers and our darling children. I have more patience for them, and savor every delicious moment with them.

I feel like myself again. And that is the real success.


Afterthought: When I first began contemplating this post some weeks ago, I had planned to post before and after pictures. I have a particularly awful one of me from last Christmas, and was going to steal one from a friend's blog for the after, when I am modeling size 6 Gap jeans at an event she had hosted to launch their newest denim line.

But the reality is, that though I enjoy being thinner, the increased mental and physical health matters to me so much more than the size that I am choosing to go sans photos.

Thanks for reading about my journey to better health...feel free to enlist me as a cheerleader if any of you are making your own similar trek. I would love to support you.