Five Question Friday - March 30

It's been a long time since I've done one of these, but I'm trying to blog more often, so here we go! It's been a super fun week around here...Scott and I are both still loving work, and Angelica's having a blast at her new school (though she did flip through her album of her Florida friends and told me how much she misses her old school in Florida, and especially her BFF Rylie). I looked at the calendar yesterday and saw that it was March 29, which meant it was exactly two months until Angelica's fourth birthday. Didn't I JUST wrap up her 3rd birthday? My how time flies!

She's full of fun quips these days. She told me the other day, after being told to do something she didn't want to, "I don't want to, and if you make me, I'm NOT going to be your kid anymore!" That stubborn streak will suit her well later in life but it sure makes for interesting parenting. She also, out of nowhere, said to me the other day: "How will I EVER grow up? I'm only THREE YEARS OLD, how will I EVER grow up??" No idea where that came from because we had been silent in the car just moments before that, but I told her, "One day at a time, my dear." To which she replied again, "But I'm only THREE YEARS OLD!"

This weekend will probably be a fun one, too. The kids at our church have been working hard on a production of Seussical, so we'll be seeing that. Then there's chores and grocery shopping and trips to the playground.

Anyway, on to Five Question Friday!



1. What giveaway would you like to do on your blog?
I've been out of the giveaway game for awhile (though I do have another one coming up shortly) and I'm kind of enjoying not having a ton of stuff to review. That said, I wouldn't mind reviewing baby products when we get closer to having baby #2!

2. If you had to choose between natural artistic ability and natural athletic ability, which would it be?
It's a tough call. I have some artistic ability, but I would love to be able to do arts and crafts with more flair...but being athletic means I would have an easier time exercising which means I'd live longer. I guess I'd take the athletic ability and try to learn more artistic skills.

3. Do you ditch the coat the minute it becomes "spring" or are you a holdout for more cool temps?
I already ditched my coat, and then we got another "cold" snap. It's been in the 40s this week so I've been "roughing" it with a hoodie. It's bound to warm up again soon!

4. What would you do if you won the mega millions lotto of 1/2 billion dollars?
Buy a house, pay off our debts and all of our family's debts, start my own business, and save save save for the future.

5. You are at a hotel by yourself...what do you do?
I honestly don't know. How long am I there alone? I might take a nap or finish watching the last season and a half of Desperate Housewives. Or read a book. But I wouldn't want to stay there for long, it's lonely being alone!

Not So Wordless Wednesday - Pinkeye

Angelica contracted her very first case of pinkeye last week. We got the dreaded call from daycare that she might be coming down with it around 11:30, and by 3:30 they were calling us to come get her. I was dreading it. Back in May, when she had nursemaids elbow followed by her 3 year checkup all within a five day period, she screamed bloody murder from the second we walked in the door until we left.

We also had not yet picked a new pediatrician since moving to Boston. I had started my search the day before and luckily had one in mind, and they referred us to an urgent care they work with since they couldn't get us in. So, I took her to their recommended urgent care (which was in Children's Hospital Boston -- talk about convenient) and they got us into a room pretty quickly, where we proceeded to wait. And wait. And wait. We got there at about 4:15, there was nobody in the waiting room, and we weren't even seen until 5:30.

Thankfully, as you can see here, what a difference ten months makes. She specifically told me she was not going to cry or be scared (though I told her it's okay if she was scared and I would hold her hand), and she would let the doctor look at her eye. She also had tripped and fallen on the playground right before I picked her up and insisted that she show the doctor her scraped elbow. (The awesome doctor had a great sense of humor and indulged her, too!)

She was also impressed that the linens on the exam table had her name on them. :)

The pinkeye was confirmed and the doctor congratulated us on catching it "incredibly early" -- within hours of onset, she said. (Uh, of course, her eyes were fine when she was dropped off at daycare and red when I got her six hours later, so...well...thanks daycare teachers!) But I was proud of her.

So, we got through a doctor visit with smiles and laughter instead of tears and a headache, and she even thanked the doctor before we left. My heart is full of pride.

I was even more proud when it was time for her eyedrops and she didn't even flinch. She took it like a champ!

Monday Moment of Truth - The Beginning

I've been wanting to start blogging about weight loss again, but I wasn't sure how to get started. I didn't want to jump on a bandwagon, so I didn't want to start it up as a McFatty Monday...though that was fun at the time. I chose "Monday Moment of Truth" because that's what every Monday morning has been for me lately. Every Monday I step on the scale and have a moment of total shock.

This morning I was 270.6. I haven't weighed that much in...well...I can't remember. 2009, maybe? I know my highest weight since giving birth to Angelica was 277, and at some point in 2010 I got down to 245, then got up to 155 again before dropping down to 241 for a short time last year after a super sucky six week period where I couldn't eat or sleep. Not exactly the healthiest way to lose it.

I want to get down to a healthy weight. During that sucky six month period I alluded to above, the one thing I kept telling myself was that I had to do my very best to eat (even when I didn't feel like it) because I needed to be healthy and strong and in a year's time, I would look back on that sucky, sucky time and be so proud of how far I came. I intend to make good on that promise to myself.

So, Couch to 5k is going well. I'm on Week 3, and although I had to take a day off from it to tend to a sick kid (more on that in another post), I'm still going strong. I've also been regularly attending yoga classes and just signed up for Zumba as well. The only missing piece in my plan is that I hate, hate, hate tracking food and calories, so I haven't been. But now I'm going to bite the bullet and just do it.

Next week I hope to have happier news, or at least have a weight that doesn't start with a 27.

Wordless Wednesday: At the Park

The weather here was fantastic last weekend so we spent a lot of time outdoors. Here are a few shots from the park! Angelica is wearing a dress with mice on it and rainboots with cats. Yep. Makes perfect sense.

She had such a good day she fell asleep while I was cooking dinner.

Not So Wordless Wednesday

The week before Angelica and I moved up to Boston (Scott came up a week before we did), I had to make a Target run after work and of course, Angelica had to come with me. I really wanted to be in and out of the store quickly, so I told her if she behaved she could choose a toy from the dollar section up front. She held up her end of the deal, so after I grabbed the one item I needed, she got to pick something.

She didn't want a toy, though. She wanted to get a set of Valentine's Day bud vases for me. I tried and tried to steer her toward the toys, but she really wanted me to have these bud vases. So she "bought" them for me (and I snuck a toy in the cart for her, too).

Yesterday we went to the playground after school, since the sun is still up when we get home now, and she picked up two leaves, or "flowers" as she called them, as we were walking back to our house. When we walked in the door, she took off up the stairs and I asked her where she was going. She said, "To put the flowers in the vase." At the time, I was clueless as to what she was saying, and since she has been all about imaginative play, I figured she was just imagining a flower vase in her dollhouse or something.

After she went to bed, I went up to my room, and was pleasantly taken aback when I found that she had placed the "flowers" in the bud vases she bought me, which I had placed on my dresser.

And that's the story behind this picture.

Heartbreak Hill

I recently started training for a 5k (again), inspired by my drive to and from work, which takes me up and down the infamous Heartbreak Hill. I've followed the Boston Marathon off and on over the past few years and I've always thought about running it, but quickly dismissed the idea.

For those of you not familiar with Heartbreak Hilll -- here's a summary (from (Wikipedia):

Heartbreak Hill is an ascent over 0.4 mile (600 m) of the Boston Marathon course, between the 20 and 21 mile (32 and 34 km) marks, in the vicinity of Boston College. It is the last of four "Newton hills", which begin at the 16-mile (26 km) mark. The Newton hills confound contestants (out of proportion to their modest elevation gain) by forcing a late climb after the downhill trend of the race to that point. Heartbreak Hill itself rises only 88 vertical feet (27 m), from an elevation of 148 feet (45 m) at the bottom to an elevation of 236 feet (72 m) at the top, but is positioned at a point on a marathon course where muscle glycogen stores are likely to be depleted—a phenomenon referred to by marathoners as "hitting the wall."

The nickname "Heartbreak Hill" originated with an incident in the 1936 race. On this stretch, defending champion John A. Kelley caught race leader Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, giving Brown a consolatory pat on the shoulder as he passed. His competitive drive apparently stoked by this gesture, Tarzan Brown rallied, pulled away from Kelley, and went on to win—in the words of Boston Globe reporter Jerry Nason, "breaking Kelley's heart."

Late last year, after contending with what still goes down in the history of my life as being "the worst period of time I've ever lived through", I came to the realization that I have to dream, dream big, and dream bigger -- but I also have to put plans into motion to make those dreams happen. And then it dawned on me. I love running -- why not aim to run the Boston Marathon?

At the time I had zero inclination that we would wind up actually living in Boston.

I kind of let that dream slide as we got busy with the moving and settling in, and the job hunt and all the other crazyness that goes along with a move. But then, as I figured out the best route to take to work actually took me through Heartbreak Hill, I decided to start training again. Last Wednesday I looked at my calendar, tried to pick a good date to start and then in one very centered moment of clarity it hit me. I'm not going to make a plan for when to start. I'm just going to do it. Today.

That night after Angelica was in bed, I laced up my sneakers and went running and on Sunday, I completed my first week of the Couch to 5k program, again. I also learned a major difference between here and Florida: There is no level terrain in Boston. My average climb for a run in Florida was 20 feet. My average climb last week was 120. Needless to say, by Sunday night my legs were screaming. But I'm determined to keep going. (I've also found a slightly more level area to run since then, thank goodness.)

I also looked into what it would take to sign up for the  Boston Marathon, and discovered that it's too late to qualify for 2013's race (qualification starts about 18 mos before the race), and I probably won't be ready by the time qualifications start for the 2014 race (you have to be able to keep a certain pace to qualify and I don't think I'll be there yet the next time it comes around). So, I am putting it out there right now. I WILL run the 2015 Boston Marathon.

This may not seem like a big deal to a lot of people. Lots of people run every day. The difference is, I've got about 100lbs of extra weight on me to shed and people have told me time after time that I shouldn't run. Which turned into me telling myself I shouldn't. And now I'm letting go of that false belief. I can do this.

Fortunately, I have that drive on Heartbreak Hill to remind me each day what my goal is.

Organic Hair Products for Children from Fairy Tales - Review

I recently had the opportunity to review some organic hair care products for children from Fairy Tales. The opportunity couldn't have come at a better time. We had just moved to Boston, I was almost out of shampoo and conditioner for Angelica, and I was looking for an organic alternative to her shampoo and conditioner, plus I was looking for a leave-in product to help combat static electricity that was making her hair stand on end.

Fairy Tales sent me full-sized bottles of their organic shampoo, organic conditioner, and organic static-free leave in conditioner.

Having used Fairy Tales organic hair care products on Angelica's hair for about a month now, I can definitely say that they are good quality.

Here is an item-by-item breakdown of what I thought:

Tear-Free Organic Conditioning Shampoo: Angelica really liked the smell of the shampoo. It wasn't overpowering like some children's haircare products can be, and lived up to the tear-free claim. A little bit goes a long way with this shampoo, so a full-sized bottle (12 oz) will last awhile.

Organic Detangling Conditioner: This was the first separate conditioner I've ever used on Angelica's hair. She's got very fine hair, with a little bit of curl at the end and I didn't want a product that would build up in her hair and make it look limp. Like the shampoo, a little bit goes a long way, and the conditioner had a very nice, light scent. It didn't weigh her hair down, but it did straighten out her curls. Overall, I really liked it, I just don't think Angelica's hair is the type that needs a conditioner right now.

Organic Static-Free Leave In Detangling Spray: Both Angelica and I thought this was the most effective product for winter hair care. Having superfine hair, after we moved up here, Angelica spent a lot of time with her hair standing on end, thanks to the dry air and static electricity. I was really excited to use this product and I am so glad to say it works like a charm! We finally stopped shocking each other every time she held my hand, and she also stopped perpetually looking like she had been electrocuted.

All three products are 12 oz and only $8.95 through FairyTalesHairCare.com. That's a great price for organic hair care products for children, and since you don't have to use a lot, a bottle will last awhile. (I've had them for a month and haven't even used half yet -- but Angelica has short hair so your mileage may vary.)

The only criticism I have of the products is that they have an organic claim but do not have the USDA organic seal on the bottle, so I don't know if they're certified organic. They do, however, use organic herbs in the product and exclude methylparaben and sodium laureth sulfate, which is a step up from conventional hair care products.

All in all, this crunchy mama gives Fairy Tales Hair Care a thumbs up! I would buy these products again!

Disclosure: I received these products free of charge from Fairy Tales Hair Care via Team Mom for purposes of this review. I received no other compensation for this post and receipt of products has not influenced my opinion. This post represents my point of view/opinion and is in not intended to be interpreted as professional advice or recommendations. Thanks to Fairy Tales and Team Mom for sponsoring this product reviews.

Another Boston Blog Update

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted! My blog titles are getting lame. I need to work on that.

February was kind of a whirlwind. We worked on getting settled here, and I think we're almost to that point. Scott's loving his job, Angelica's loving her daycare, and I just started a new job at a very busy search marketing agency and loving every second of it so far. We're starting to get used to the area. I'm finding I'm using my GPS less and less. I can get to and from work, to and from the grocery store and to and from a really awesome shopping center without using it. We've been church-hopping a bit, but once we pick a permanent church home (and I think we have), I'll have to make sure to learn the routes there.

We're all really loving living here. It's been a much smoother transition than expected. Angelica loves taking the train (and so do I -- I hate driving!) and the city itself is just a wonder. I had coffee with the recruiter who helped me land the job a couple weeks ago, and got lost in downtown Boston, and instead of getting frustrated (okay -- maybe I was a little frustrated) I was in awe of the city. The old buildings. The landscape. The fact that the roads are paved over horse trails so you know how our ancestors must have traveled. (And they must have been lost ALL THE TIME with the crazy roads around here!)

It's been a mild winter, which I think has helped the transition. We've only had two snowstorms since we got here. One was last week, and it was pretty heavy. I had to dig myself out of my parking space, but in true Andrea fashion, didn't account for the extra time that would take and of course it made me a little bit late for work. Angelica just loves the snow! I'm thinking she'll enjoy it even more next winter if/when we have even more of it. Temperature-wise, it hasn't been too bad. In fact, in a couple of days we'll have temps in the 60s!

Some of the things we've done since we've been here:
- Saw Disney on Ice's Dare to Dream at TD Garden (where the Bruins play)
- Visited four different shopping malls
- Had dinner at a few small, locally-owned restaurants
- Been to two different Unitarian Universalist churches. (Lucky us, there are about a million of them up here! We fit right in!)
- I got majorly lost in downtown Boston, as I mentioned before, which resulted in me driving past Northeastern University, Boston College, and some other college I can't remember the name of, plus seeing a trolley for the first time in my life.
- Took the train to Quincy Market. Don't call it Quin-see, by the way. It's Qwyn-zee. The locals will look at you funny if you pronounce it wrong.
- Saw an outdoor pay toilet.
- Found an indoor playground for Angelica.
- Went to a birthday party for one of Angelica's new daycare friends.
- Registered Angelica for K-1, which is something I didn't know Boston had. Up here, kids basically start Kindergarten at age 4, and then have two years of it. AND, you get your pick of schools, as long as you register early and beat the lottery system.
- I've now taken a train, a bus, and the subway. I love public transportation.

I'm sure there are some things I've forgotten. But I have rambled on a LOT. How about some cute pictures!

 

Playing "vacation" with her Toy Story toys

The next few are from an indoor kids playground that we went to on a snowy day

Angelica opening Valentines from her friends at school

Headed to our community playground