Foto Friday: Master Card Edition

One Baby: $15, 678 delivered by c-section


Diapers for one month: $50

Baby Wipes for one month: $7

Having a Big Brother who begs to watch Baby


And a Big Sister who loves to change diapers

PRICELESS.

Product Review: Little Debbie 100 Calorie Snacks

In my quest to defeat the evil Wii Fit, I've been trying to eat healthier snack options besides chocolate pudding and A&W Cream Soda. So imagine my glee when I found these at the local grocery store:

Little Debbies! My favorites! And? They were on sale - 2 for $3. The box promised that they would taste just as wonderfully delicious as the originals. I snatched them up, eagerly looking forward to a "healthier" snack for the day (and maybe again before bed).

When I got home and opened the box...well, I was in for a surprise. On my next trip to the store, I had to get the normal goodies to compare them for you - such is my devotion to you, dear reader.

They meant what they said about these goodies tasting just like the original versions because they really do. But for those of you playing along at home, you might notice that the original brownies and Nutty Bars are just over 300 calories per serving. Obviously the big brains at Little Debbie didn't want to mess with a good thing so they just shrunk the portion size down to a reasonable 100 calorie size. Check these out:

Oh, look! It's a baby brownie! Oh, it's just so cute, I could eat the whole box!

And the Nutty Bar, while the same length is not the same height. They trimmed off a layer. And doesn't he look so lonely, all by himself, while normal Nutty Bars come in pairs? It's kinda like the creepy roommate who would never leave the room when you and your boyfriend wanted to make out.

Here are the Pros and Cons of these 100 calorie versions:

Pro - Taste much better than the normal fake-diet chocolate goodies.
Pro - Small enough that they're easier to sneak past your kids.
Pro - You don't look like such a freak when you stuff the entire serving in your mouth all at once.
Pro - Takes less time to finish off the entire box in one sitting.

Con - Cost the same as the fully-leaded versions but you don't get as much.
Con - Might not be enough to satisfy when you really need some chocolate, like when your husband is working late and your three-year-old is working on defeating your last nerve.
Con - Hey, they're only 100 calories each so eating five is no big deal, right?

Have you tried any "healthier" snacks lately?

Showing The Wii Who's The Boss...Or Not

I'm beginning to wonder why we got the Wii Fit. Besides it talking trash about me to my kids, it really hasn't helped me with my weight-loss goals and has quite possibly ruined my self-image.

While pregnant, I was repeatedly subjected to the Wii Fit's veiled insults as I continued to gain weight. It would ask me why I thought I was putting on the pounds in spite of it's best efforts to slenderize me, but "Creating A New Life Within Me" was not an option it offered. I had to choose from "Late Night Snacking" or "Portion Size" instead, then read it's lecture on my presumed bad habits before continuing on. Once I had Baby, I was looking forward to shocking the Wii into silence with my amazing weight loss.

I did a Body Test when Baby was one week old. I only lost 4.4 pounds. WHAT?!? Baby weighed more than that! Maybe it was all that pudding I ate in the hospital...

Then, just before the New Year, I weighed myself again. This time? Almost 14 pounds. Yes! But was the Wii impressed? Nope. It merely said that I was progressing at a good pace and then suggested I use the Balance games so I wasn't quite so uncoordinated. I swear, that thing is never happy. Kinda reminds me of a high school math teacher I had...

Friday Funny

Sue at Navel Gazing has started Very Funny Friday, where I get to post something that I think is funny for all to enjoy. I got all kinds of funny around here but not everyone is gonna get a chuckle. Luckily, it's my blog and as such, I get to do whatever I want.

I found Flight of the Conchords through a friend. They're a New Zealand duo with a show on HBO. This is my favorite song of theirs (well, and She's So Hot but the kids are beginning to ask me what he's singing about...).



And if you don't think that's funny, you can always try this one instead (but chances are, you'll think that's lame, too).

Be Careful What You Wish For

Please don't hate me or throw anything at the screen for what I am about to say...



Baby doesn't cry.



Sure, she makes noise. She squawks and grunts but she doesn't yell and scream. Instead of crying to get our attention, she'll squawk a few times, getting louder if we're not reacting as quickly as she wants. Now, normally, this would be the stuff of dreams, the hope and prayer of every mother.

But I gotta say, it ain't all it's cracked up to be.

Let me explain: she doesn't cry. Nearly every time I went to check on her after she'd been asleep for a while, she'd be laying in her crib, wide awake and looking around, but not making a noise. Since she wasn't crying, I didn't know she was hungry and she slept sooooo much. At her two-week appointment, she hadn't gained any weight since leaving the hospital. Also, there's some confusion as to how much she really weighed when she was born. Since she wasn't breathing all that well, there were lots of hands and other oxygen-related paraphernalia when they weighed her. She might not have weighed as much as 7 pounds 8 ounces, like it's listed on her paperwork. We do know that when we left the hospital, she was 6 pounds and 15 ounces. That's quite a drop. So when we met with the doctor for her check-up, he sees her birth weight and her current weight. "Freak-out" doesn't quite fit his reaction. Let's try "really, really concerned to the point where he gives me his I-am-extremely-disappointed-in-you look." Yeah, that's a better description. I was given a checklist of things to try to get her to eat more. Since she is such a sleepy baby, keeping her awake long enough or ever trying to wake her up was a nearly hopeless process. Basically, any time she's awake, we were supposed to be feeding her. So we try it. The following week, she's gained four ounces. Two weeks after that, she's crossed the 8 pound mark. And guess what? She's not sleeping as much and is eating a lot more. Turns out she was so sleepy because she was hungry. Go figure.

Baby still doesn't cry (unless I'm in the shower and don't hear her crying until after I finished shaving my legs and using that special conditioner that has to stay in my hair for a long time). We have to use a timer to see if it's time for her to eat because she won't tell us. I wonder if this is just a taste of what she'll be like as a teenager and we can't get her to say more than two words to anyone.

Another Mothering Moment by Jessica G.

Just because you are sleep deprived does not mean you should finish off your husband's Dr Pepper. This is not a good idea for two reasons:

1. You haven't have caffeine for a couple months now and the large amount in Dr Pepper will cause you to stay wide awake until the wee hours of the morning, where you will start to seriously consider whether you can trade your poor, ragged soul to the devil for some rest.
2. When the buzz finally fades and you start to crash, your baby will take the opportunity to demand some quality time. Despite your previous practice, the concept of "nursing" will confuse your already befuddled mind; not to mention how it will irritate the poop out of your hungry infant.
   

End results? Everyone is crying.



And in other news...
Thanks to everyone for your birthday wishes for the Man! He said after reading that he considered commenting on my blog. For the first time. Ever. It's so nice that he supports me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I seem to have some sarcasm dripping all over my keyboard...

Happy Birthday, The Man!

Happy Birthday, The Man!

While he doesn't make as big a deal out of his birthday as I like to, I still tried to do some things for him. We didn't eat out all week (because he doesn't like to go out - the crazy person) and he didn't have to change a poopy diaper. This year, I didn't burn dinner, so it was actually pretty nice. Oh, and I got him Mario Kart on the Wii. Hopefully, it was a fairly decent birthday.

The Man is an incredible person, a wonderful father, and he spoils me rotten. Really, I don't know why I am celebrating here on my blog since he doesn't read it unless he's bored and there's nothing good on Slashdot...

Foto Friday #23

Hooray! I'm posting this on an actual Friday! Aren't you so proud of me?

We've got a full house this weekend. Baby G will be blessed in church on Sunday so both sets of grandparents are here for the event. The kids are in heaven.


This was the activity for the morning: playing the Boy's fishing game that he got for Christmas. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the Grampas down on the floor, trying to catch fish with those little bitty rods.

Oh, and Grampas?

Watch out.

The Boy cheats.

What I'm Doing Instead of Posting

Since I haven't been that great about posting lately, I thought I'd share the reason why and this poem explains it pretty well. I found it years ago, before I had kids, and have kept it tucked away for ages but think about it all the time.

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby,
and babies don't keep!

Foto Friday: Toes!

Yeah, I know it's not Friday...I'm still trying to catch up.

The Boy and I were playing Hi Ho Cherry-O. He lost interest (after I won the fourth time in a row) and wandered off. I picked up the book I was reading ("Eclipse." Yes, for the third time. Shut up.) and quickly became absorbed in the agonizing teenage drama. When the Boy returned, I noticed but didn't stop reading. Then he starts playing with my feet. But Jasper was telling Bella his story so I couldn't look up for the next several minutes. When I did, this is what I found:


Those are cherries from the game stuck in there. Do you like my pedicure? I asked the pedicure lady to give me something fun and pink, since I was just about to have a baby girl. Anyway, this got me thinking about the kids' feet. I joke that the kids belong to the Man, but I'm not sure they're mine because they look just like him and his sister. And it's not just their faces. Check out their toes.


These are da Boo's toes. I had a picture of the Boy's but his were all blurry because the concept of "standing still" is so foreign to him. Look how long her toes are compared to my short, stubby ones. They're already almost as long! I call 'em Monkey Toes. She uses them to pick up toys and that kinda creeps me out. Despite the fetish some have, I'm just not into feet. Maybe it's also why I don't really care about shoes. Feet are just weird. Especially those feet with Monkey Toes. Toes are for balance and for painting, not for picking up stuff!

There's been some debate as to whom the Baby resembles most, since she has brown hair and an as-yet-undetermined color of eyes. But all I needed was a look at her toes.


Et tu, Baby?

A Mothering Moment by Jessica G.

You can't really bond with your baby until she has spit up in your mouth.

I've brushed my teeth three times and I'm still gagging.