FBC – Take a photo of a heart

When we arrived at work today each one of us found this waiting for us on our desks.  One of the many benefits of working for a small company.

Shaken and stirred!

I am sure that there will be many times while Little OL is growing up that my confidence will take a knock and that I will feel like “a bad mother”. This however is the first one, well first major one that has lasted more than past her next smile, cuddle and kiss.

I know that in the bigger scheme of things it is nothing serious. We found out that she was anaemic early, there is no long term damage and it can be “fixed”.  However it has shaken me.  I have always been pretty good with her diet and although I know that this is not entirely dietary related because of the worms it does come down to a lack of nutrients.

I have always been very strict with sugars and processed foods. She did not have commercially bought cereals when she was a baby and even at her first birthday party did not have any sweets (or even any of her cake).  Until she was about two she had never had sweets, chocolate or juices (fruit juice or sodas).  Her snacks were all healthy and her food all homemade (or from Wollies which I figured is the same thing…. J)  I did however realise that she drank quite a bit of milk, but figured it was good for her.

Now I am beginning to question everything.  It sucks!  I am taking another hard look at her diet.  I am cutting down on her milk intake as well as her carbs.  I need to find a way to get her to start enjoying her greens again and eating her veggies.  At school they  say she eats them no problem, so it is just at home.

I need however to get more organised as I need to have a meal ready just to warm up when we get home at 5. Little OL is starving then but if I wait then she won’t eat.  I have been using my slow cooker lately and just putting it on when I leave for work in the mornings so that it is ready when I get home but need to look at other ideas as well.  Maybe putting some of the meal I (or Mr OL) cooks the night before in the fridge for her or something like that.  I have been looking at various meal plans and ideas online (any excuse to search Pinterest…..), but just need to find one that works for us.  The reason I have not done this previously was that Mr OL did all our cooking (he adds too much spices, chilli and salt for Little OL). The nanny or I prepared all Little OL’s food and the nanny would then feed her before I got home from work.  Easy!  Now I am nanny less and Little OL is in school full day.  It has really thrown a spanner in the works.  I know if I prepare a full meal plan I will end up being the one to do all the cooking.  I don’t want to take that on as well.

Do you have a system that works for you?  Do you work from a meal plan or just throw something on when you get home?  Ideas please…..

Cookies, cookies and more cookies

You would have thought that by getting unlimited wifi at home my blogging might have increased.  As you can probably tell, that did not happen.  I have realised that I don’t do internet at home.  When I am at home and Little OL is awake then I will spend the time playing with her.  If she is asleep then I like to do something a bit more creative.

My latest obsession – cookies!  I am going to blame Hayley for this.  After she posted her delicious condensed milk stamped cookies I realised I needed to try them out. And then I realised that I also needed one of those stamps.

Cookie Stamp

So, in the past couple of weeks I have made Hayley’s condensed milk cookies, a short bread biscuit (stamped), a white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie and a chopped nut and choc chip cookie.

Chopped nuts and choc chip cookies

I have also put back most of the weight that I lost!

Little OL has also discovered the joys of licking the spatula!  Hmmm cookie dough.

Advent Calendar

This year I decided to do an advent calendar for Little OL.  I am not sure if she will understand it or not, but worth a shot.  After scouring every corner of the internet (pintrest) I saw the idea of using wage packets on Harassed Mom’s site - what a brilliant idea. In fact I pretty much “stole” her whole idea.  I used the same printables as she did for Cameron’s packets – which can be found HERE.

My main problem was what to fill them with.  After our chocolate fiasco that was a definite NO NO.  In the end I have put in little packets of biltong, dried fruit, raisins or biscuits.  This is pretty much what Little OL would have for a snack in the morning anyway, but now she just has more fun getting it.

Advent Calendar

 

1st December

Sugar High!

I have been pretty strict about what Little OL eats.  She has never really had chocolate or sweets and even at her first birthday party when I had them in the party packs she was not given them.  Wicked mommy I know.

She had her first cupcake a last weekend and a marshmallow a while back.  Generally she only eats a bit and then wants fruit or raisins anyway.

On Tuesday night I decided to walk with her to the corner shop.  She loves going for a walk and holding my hand and seeing all the dogs and birds and things in the street.  I did not need anything but though I would buy her a Chomp.  We walked there, I bought the chomp and we walked home.  I let her carry the Chomp home, and it broke in two from being slightly manhandled. When we got home I gave her the smaller of the two pieces.  I figured a little bit would not harm her – she is 21 months now.

OH MY GOOD GLORY!!!!  That was at about 5:30pm.  At 7 pm (standard bed time) I tried to get her to go to bed – it was going well, until she suddenly started bouncing – literally – on her bed.  Saying “ump, ump mummy, ump, ump”.  Translation – Jump, Jump!  Normally she will moan a bit and then go down – or hand us her bottle say “ni, ni” wave and that is it.  Not that night.  She said Ni,ni. And then again and again.  She would get up and run around her room, climb in her cupboard and laugh.  If I went back in the room she would run and cuddle me and kiss.  Mr OL came home and asked if she had had sugar or something?  Uhhhh, oops.  Yes.  We eventually got her down at about 8:30!

At 1am she woke up again and repeated the above.  She was laughing and wanting to play. She was kissing and cuddling and being generally very cute.  But it was so not appreciated.  1 am is BED TIME.  This carried on till after 4am.  Yes, for 3 hours she was trying to bounce on her bed and on me.  All she wanted to do was “ump, ump”.  At 4 I sms’d my sister and told her I was not going to be able to meet her for a cycle and went and got a Little OL a bottle of milk.  That worked (for a while) and she went to sleep.  Waking again at 6:30 – with a very interesting hair style.

Bad Hair Day!

All I can say is that she is NEVER EVER having chocolate or sweets again – EVER!  She only crashed at 3pm on Wednesday afternoon – 20hours after having the chocolate. 

Breakfast on the counter waiting!

When I plan on going cycling at 4am I pack and prepare everything the night before.  This day it did not get used!

Lord help me when she starts Day Care next year – at the moment I have total control

Step away from the chocolate!!!

Normally when I am anxious or nervous or generally worried about something I lose weight so what the hell is wrong with me at the moment.  I am eating like a horse! 

I have that nervous, anxious feeling in my stomach but instead of feeling nauseous at the sight of food or going for a long run I am trying to get rid of the feeling with chocolate, white bread and basically any other junk that I can lay my hands on!  Not good. 

I need to start exercising again – my knee feels better, so maybe if I go into it slowly this time things would be good. 

This weekend – definitely!!!!

Feeling Blah!

I am having one of those days when I am just feeling BLAH!  There is no other word for it.

Not happy, not sad, just BLAH!

I think it is because my ITB’s are sore – and yes both knees.  I guess I have been doing too much too soon.  Typical, I don’t do anything in 1/2 measures.  On Sunday I ran 20 km, then 10km on Monday and 9km on Tuesday.  Today I rested.  Jumping up to those distances from basically nothing probably was not the best idea.

So, it has been the foam roller and I are now good friends.  I am determined to get this right, but I might have to postpone my goal of running a marathon in December. There in another one in PE in January so I suppose that is not too bad.

Other than that, well not really sure…  I want to eat – lots, mostly chocolate!  But then don’t want to because of that dratted mirror at my mom’s house (and the scale in mine that says I have gained 3 kg’s in the past 2 months). 

But it is not all doom and gloom.  My little one is an angel and soooo frikken cute!  My mom keeps laughing at me because I was never all that sure that I wanted kids.

Photo Credit

Seems to be working

So my “While my husband is on cooking course I get no dinner” Diet seems to be going rather well.  I have lost 1kg since he started the course. 

Just shows how much we actually ate for dinner if I can have a nougat bar each night (yes, my new dinner) and still loose weight.  (Have I mentioned that I am addicted to Wedgewood’s Macadamia nut Nougat)  I am now officially lighter than I was when I fell pregnant.  Unfortunately I can’t say the same about my shape or fitness levels – which to me are much more important.  Although at the time I guess I was ridiculously fit.  Oh to be in that sort of shape again…

Who says romance is dead!

Me!!!

So I figured there were two ways of dealing with Valentine’s Day. 

One – hope beyond hope that this one year Mr OL would actually get me something, because each year I have told him it would mean alot to me.  And then get really upset because Mr OL would not acknowledge the day exists (as usual).  In fact by Tuesday I was already building up to this because I already knew he would not do anything…. 

Or 

Two – buy myself a box of chocolates, smile and carry on as if it were any other day. 

I decided on Option 2 and it worked much better for me. 

I did not dream I was going to get something or secretly hope he had remembered and would actually wish me a Happy Valentines Day – he of course did not.  And for once I was not upset about it. 

I did think about buying him a card but even decided against that, then I thought I might make him one, I decided against that too.  So,  I pretended like the day did not exist as well.  He did make me breakfast (but he does that most Sunday’s anyway) and later on shared my chocolates with him.  

I hope that your Valentines Day was a bit more romantic.

How inconsiderate!

I don’t complain about work very often.  I am usually very aware of what I write, who reads it and what the consequences could be.  You read all these stories about people getting fired because of their Facebook status updates and blog posts but this time I just can’t help it. 

You won’t BELIEVE what they have gone and done.  I mean the inconsiderate bunch of #$##$%$!!!  They have gone and put a basket full of chocolates in our reception area!  Yes, you read that right – CHOCOLATES!!! How could they?  Don’t they know I am pregnant and my will power has gone out the window… and the worst is they have said we can help ourselves when ever we want?  I mean who in their right minds says something like that…  

I’ll be back to write the rest of this post later, at the moment I think I need to rush to the reception area. I am sure I heard my name being called (again).