The undeserved gifts

I'm feeling like an evil mom right about now. Neither of my children appear to grasp the Santa Claus "naughty list" threat. Their behavior has been in a downward spiral since Thanksgiving. I'm not surprised - it's been this way every year. And of course they're going to ultimately win, because I don't keep receipts and I'm too lazy to do returns anyway. Besides, I actually sewed some stuff for Nicole this year (photos here) and it's not like I can take that back to the store.

So here's why I'm feeling evil - both kids have decided to change their story about what's on the top of their list. Everything had been at least ordered, if not wrapped, and none of the ordered items are the things they're now talking about. Nicole is telling everyone who asks that she'd like a DSI (a souped up version of a Nintendo game thing she already has). Jake has been asking for a "Cleaner Truck". No one really knows what that is. So I've decided, that when the children ask why Santa didn't bring them a cleaner truck or a DSI, I'm going to tell them those items came out of the sled due to some naughty time. They have to learn somehow, and it gets me off the hook. There may be some tears this Christmas, but I'm beyond caring. My children often fail to realize just how spoiled they really are, and this year they're going to have to start figuring it out. It's not like they're going to be hurting. They'll still have plenty of packages - and packages that represent things that were in fact on their mile-long lists at one point.

As always, I'll be more than happy to see December draw to a close. It's the worst month of the year for so many reasons. And when it's all over, my children might go back to becoming reasonably behaved human beings. At least, until Mother's Day.

Stat Post - week of 12/20

Monday: 10 minute walk through building (twice); 40 minutes on the treadmill
Tuesday: 10 minute walk through building (twice)
Wednesday: 10 minute walk through building (twice); 40 minutes on the treadmill
Thursday: 10 minute walk through building (twice)
Friday: (xmas eve - off work) no exercise at all
Saturday: xmas day - totally off-menu - no exercise at all
Sunday: Two trips up and down the street (probably no more than .5 mile), 35 minutes of Zumba.

I gave myself a total pass on Christmas. Christmas Eve the kids and I went out to see if any last minute shopping items spoke to us. They didn't. And the stores were surprisingly non-busy. After shopping, we went to IHOP. They have one or two decent choices on the menu, but none of them qualified at all as what I wanted, and what I wanted was real eggs. Egg substitute is yucky. That lunch was probably an entire day's calorie allowance. Oh well. I left happy. And for dinner, I had nachos - the same nachos the rest of my family was having. So there.

Christmas morning was at my parents' house - where there was not a single good choice to be had. The only available options were donuts, and fried breakfast food. And I sampled it all, because it wouldn't have been Christmas without it. The primary difference was that I only had one plateful. That's usually not the case.

Skipped lunch, and once home, opened a bottle of wine which I finished entirely on my own by the end of the night. And that might explain why I'm not entirely certain what all I ate for dinner. I know there was a cold cut sandwich, followed by some pizza. There were also some dessert items, and chips and cheese dip. Can't even begin to account for how much of that stuff I ate.

Today was back on menu. And I have no idea what to expect for the weigh-in tomorrow morning. If I gained, I doubt it was any more than last week. I may still hit the treadmill tonight after the kids are in bed. Just to totally make sure I expend more than I took in today.

Time to check the freezer to see what's available for dinner.

Resurrection, part 2

Yeah, it's been two years. Life isn't quite what it was, because the baby is now a pre-schooler and the big sister is in 2nd grade and involved in Girl Scouts and taking piano lessons. So it's slightly busier than it was before, but at least she's not involved in sports - that kind of schedule might just kill me. But even just the minimal involvement she has in activities, combined with her homework, mixed in with only about two hours total of "family time" (whatever that is), has led to some very unhealthy habits.

We can't change everyone at once - that just won't fly. So I decided to start with me. Two months ago, I joined Jenny Craig, and have been largely eating microwaved boxed food ever since. I don't find it particularly pleasant, and I don't do a very good job of sticking to it. We still go out to dinner any night that we are out as a family anyway - mostly weekends, but not always. And of course there are the holidays and nights out with friends or family. I try to make good choices, but seriously.. it depresses me. Having grilled chicken with broccoli when fettuccini alfredo is on the menu is just not something I have the willpower to do.

Enter exercise. I loathe exercise. Truly, I do. But given my inability to make good choices when presented with food items that cause me utter bliss, I have no choice. So in the last month I've dusted off the treadmill, and braved the zumba DVDs on occasion. I've even popped in the Wii fit disk a few times. But doing that and avoiding kicking or tripping over Jake is all but impossible. Neither child comprehends the need for personal space while exercising. So it typically waits until they're in bed - and it typically only happens during the nights when Rob puts them to bed.

My consultant has also encouraged me to start taking the stairs at work. All the way up to the 4th floor. Well, it's been nearly a month, and it still nearly kills me. So I modified. I take the steps all the way down, and then wander the hallways in the building until I reach a different staircase. Then I go up one flight, and wander the halls some more. I'm still going up all of the steps - just not all at the same time. And I have the benefit of being able to speak by the time I'm back at my desk.

So, if I can manage it, I'm going to log my exercise successes here. And maybe just journal about whatever interests me at the time. It probably won't be that interesting. But whatever. So far, I've lost 17 lbs. I have at least 40 more to go before "goal". If I make it, I'll want a log of how it happened. If I don't, I'll have a list of excuses. My first goal - post tonight before going to bed.