Posted in Travel/Vacations

Staycation All I Ever Wanted!

Hums “Vacation” by the Go-Go’s…

Before I begin with our plans for our “staycation”, I have to inform you that I will no longer be reading It Rides A Pale Horse by Andy Marino. It is way too slow for my liking and I thought it would pick up, but I was nearly halfway through and I just couldn’t go on. I am taking a page out of Cheila’s blog (https://pinkfordays.wordpress.com/) and not continue on with books that don’t interest me. Maybe I’ll try again at a later date but for now, NOPE!

Okay, onward!

I’ve been having a bit of a hard time, so my husband was kind enough to surprise me with some vacation time, which I am so thrilled about! I’m not a huge planner, but I like to have a rough idea of what we will be doing, so of course that’s what I did. With his input as well.

Sunday (Tomorrow) – Morning gym session. Then we are getting together with my family, it’s the Super Bowl (American Football for those who don’t know and meh to me). I don’t really care for the game, mainly because I don’t understand a lick of it to be fair. But I get to spend some time with my parents, brothers, my nonna Santa (my grandmother with Dementia), and hopefully my nephews and sister-in-law. We are doing a pot luck, so I was preparing some things for that tonight: Tuna Salad, Chicken Salad, Cheeseball, Veggie tray, etc. I’ll try to take a picture of the spread tomorrow!

Monday – The gym at night, especially after all that fatty food from Sunday, I will need it! But I think I’m going to tackle the pantry and maybe tidy up my desk while Valeria sleeps and my husband is going to do a deep clean of the bathroom (Yay!). Otherwise our Monday is going to be a pretty quiet one. Take Valeria for a walk, it’s suppose to be nice weather this week, so want to get as much sunshine as possible!

Tuesday – We have a Pioneer Village just on the edge of town and they are offering “Winter Walks”. The homes are not currently open, but we can walk the grounds and my husband has never been, so I thought that would be fun for all three of us to go to.

Wednesday – Valeria is 4 months old! And I guess it’s Valentine’s Day (Blah). I’ll be taking some 4 month pictures, though I’m still not sure what I’m going to do for them, I usually have a plan each month but this one stumped me. But if you have any suggestions for a photo concept for my baby girl, I’d be grateful!

I’m not a fan of Valentine’s Day personally, I love my husband everyday and try to do little things to make him feel special. Maybe I’m just a cynic, I’ve never really been a fan. But if you do enjoy the holiday, what special plans do you have?

Oh and the gym at night, gotta keep to my schedule! And hey maybe the gym won’t be as busy due to Valentine’s Day.

Thursday – We are heading to the Butterfly Conservatory! We will also be heading to Hamilton again to visit my Mother-in-law. It’s a long weekend here, so it’s perfect for us to spend a little time with her as well.

Friday – We are heading to a waterfall in Hamilton, apparently there are lots. I had no idea, so I told him to pick one. This one is all him! I hope Valeria enjoys the hike and the falls, well daddy carrying her in the carrier anyway! Fingers crossed.

He also wants to go to this Italian bakery/market that he saw on Instagram, so we will be taking a trip out there as well. Not going to lie, I checked out their page and it was mouth watering, so I’m a little excited about it. Good Italian bakeries are hard to find these days here.

Saturday – We are going to visit my Nonna (my dad’s mother), she hasn’t seen the baby yet. We thought since we will be close by, we would take her over for a few hours to meet her. I can’t wait to see a five foot tiny Italian lady holding our 15 lb baby. It makes me smile and giggle to myself thinking about it. I know she will love her though, she always asks about Valeria whenever we speak. She will probably invite my Godparents over as well, they haven’t seen her yet either.

Sunday – I get to see my cousin Antoinette, who I haven’t seen in….let me think, probably almost 15 or 20 years. I know! Trust me, we both realize now how stupid it’s been not having grown up together since we were thick as thieves as little girls. Family drama kept us apart for a long time, then this past year we reconnected and well….we’ve been talking literally every day. She is so excited to meet Valeria, I know she is going to spoil her rotten and honestly I’m thrilled to have her be a part of our daughter’s life. She has a goth mama, why not a goth auntie?! It will be a wonderful day, I’m so looking forward to it!

Monday – Depending on how Sunday goes, we might be coming home Monday morning. Monday will be a total rest day once we get home and getting Valeria back into her regular routine at home.

Now looking at our week, it’s really busy! Who knows, this is the plan right now, but things could totally change. This is why I like to have a rough idea of what we’re doing.

Do you have any exciting plans for the week? Any activities you will be doing with your kids or partner?

I’m going to call it here for the evening, but I hope you have a wonderful day or evening wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Daily Life as a Parent

What a Week!

Well another week gone and it feels like a complete blur! Let’s recap, at least what I can remember anyway.

I finally got to take pictures at Century Manor, I went back to the gym, my daughter rolled for the first time this week (Yay!!), my internet went out…AGAIN, went to the post office to send out a return, I unintentionally went for a two hour walk with my daughter, requested an exchange on a book order, rescheduled my dental appointment and Salem went back to the vet for a recheck. I think those are the big highlights.

It was a hectic week and I really didn’t expect it to be, it just kind of turned out that way. So I apologize in advance if this post is boring or too domestic compared to my usual posts.

I ordered some books from an online place called https://bookoutlet.ca/. It’s fantastic and I am a lover of physical copies. So, when I ordered they were doing a buy 4 get the 5th free; well I had to get books for myself and Valeria! I came across this one series, a book of three, and I thought I had ordered all three books. But when I got my order this week I had two copies of book three. I was confused, checking my order and somehow I had mistakenly ordered it. When I went back online, book one was no longer there, I was sad. I contacted their customer support requesting a return or exchange, I was even willing to ship back the book at my own cost. They got back to me the same day and stated they will refund me, and to donate the book instead of sending it back. Frankly, some of the best customer support I’ve ever received! So I will happily be donating that book.

Next up, I ordered clothing online. I know what your thinking…Ugh online shopping and this time I have to agree. I ordered two pairs of black pants and this cute hoodie with a cut-out at the upper chest, however I was severely disappointed. They fit WAY too small, the material on the one pair of pants felt more like fabric you’d wear at Halloween, the sweater was a teeny tiny crop top that barely fit over my boobs….needless to say, it was a disaster! I requested a return and sent it back. Which is why I went to the post office….

Next story..

I decided instead of having my husband drive me, or take my own car which I didnt have Thuraday anyway, that I would walk down to the post office. It’s not all that far and Valeria could use her daily walk, so I decided to take her in the stroller and go. Well, because we had to walk along the main road, the cars kept rushing by on the street, which little Miss Valeria was not a fan of. So, on the way home I decided to take the back way that goes past my eldest brother’s house. I informed my husband that if I was taking longer then expected that was why. Silly me didnt realize, at that moment, that a 5 minute drive isnt a short walk. From leaving the house to the time I got home, it was 2 hours! I was sore already from the gym, then that cardio, man was I spent! Valeria had a wonderful sleep pretty much the whole time and the sun was shining, so a big positive on both fronts.

I couldn’t handle going to the dentist this coming Monday, February 12th, so I rescheduled. I seriously hate going to the dentist. Traumatized as a kid, and still can’t get over it. So I avoid it as much as I possibly can. A story for another day!

Salem’s recheck. Well, I scheduled this one Wednesday morning for today. She still was having constipation and she was turning her nose up at the food that helps her get fiber in her diet. So, I needed to find out if the problem was something else internally. Thankfully the visit was quick; assessed her from head to toe again, I requested bloodwork and some more medicine and they gave her some subcutaneous fluids for the dehydration. Not sure how she is dehydrated, I see her drinking constantly. That makes me wonder if it is a kidney issue like I fear. The veterinarian also suggested trying unflavored metamucil in her food, which I will definitely try! Then we took her home.

Can you see how chaotic this week turned out to be? I don’t even want to get into the internet thing, so I’m going to leave this post on a happy note.

It was a good week, so many good things happened and I’ve already got big plans for next week. My husband took next week off for lots of family time.

Until tomorrow, have a wonderful day or evening wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Health & Wellness

Back to the Gym

This will be a short post, but yesterday my husband and I were able to start going to the gym again.

Trying to figure out a schedule and someone to watch Valeria as we go to the gym was a bit of a struggle. My mom was kind enough to help us out and we planned out a schedule that worked for her. She is doing us a huge favour after all, though she sees it as grandma/granddaughter time. Her office for work is at my nonna’s house (my nonna has dementia), so sometimes she needs to stay late after work. So we made it simple and worry free for her.

Our schedule is:

Monday – 7 PM

Wednesday – 7 PM

Saturday – Sometime in the Afternoon (I’m thinking around 2 or 3 PM

Yesterday I was getting anxiety about going back, like bad anxiety. I was getting worried about how I looked, about being judged, about how much strength I lost, etc. My husband assured me that I would be okay, and if anyone judged or said anything about me, he’d say something. My husband has been going to the gym for years, however it’s been a whole year and a few months for me. I wasn’t able to go during my pregnancy, it was a bit much for me.

We tested my strength, starting with bench press and oof did I lose some strength. I started with the bar which was fine. Then my husband put 5 LB plates on each side, I lifted it but dropped it too quickly, refocusing and recovering myself but making my husband nervous in the process, I was able to lift it three times. We dropped the plates to 2.5 LB on each side and I lift that three times as well. My arms were noodles after that. We went on with the workout: chest flies, ankle strap kickbacks, lateral raises, tricep extension, leg curl and leg extension. I finished and felt okay, a little exhausted but I knew I would feel it today.

And boy did I!

My muscles were sore today, not unbearable but enough to feel them. Picking up Valeria, holding and swaying her made my arms and legs ache. A good ache I have to admit. My muscles need to remember.

I’m looking forward to continuing to go to the gym with my husband, I’ll keep ya posted on how it goes. I have it marked off in my agenda calendar, so I’m determined!

Also, we went for a walk today, which was beautiful. We finally got to see the sun for the first time in a long time, it felt more like an early Spring day then Winter. I hope the weather stays like this, I am so ready for sunny days.

Hope you had a wonderful Tuesday!

Ciao!

Posted in Daily Life as a Parent

Baby It’s Cold Outside…

This morning we woke up to a wonderful snowfall, actually a little bit of a winter storm. As we gazed out the window, baby girl was mesmerized the the snow; little fluffy pillows of snow fell from the grey sky, blanketing our barren trees and shrubs. Depressing and beautiful all at the same time.

I sat there thinking “Another day inside, how boring…” and it’s true. It’s exactly how I felt, I’m tired of being inside in this frigid cold recently. I miss our daily walks with the baby, now we sit around like couch potatoes. Not ideal when you are a mama trying to lose weight! Our dog on the other hand is loving the snow, the little fluff ball is 14 and acts like a puppy when it comes to this weather. Silly girl!

What a better way to pass the time than to go out in the front yard and take some photos. The photos above this paragraph is the start of the snowfall. It continued throughout the day, stopping only briefly once or twice. The photos below are later in the day.

Valeria had a tough time napping again, taking 20-30 minute naps at a time. Not really sure why, but I’m finding weekends are her toughest days. I wonder if it’s because my parents are home and she hears more noise throughout the house. We are fortunate that she was in a good mood all day, even with the little sleep she had.

Baby girl spent some time with grandma and grandpa as well. My parents love spending time with her. My dad’s face just lights up whenever he sees her, and he adores playing with her and making her smile. Mom doesn’t want to put her down whenever she is spending time with her, it’s so cute to watch them with her.

My husband cleaning his car – FYI this is not his usual winter attire, however not surprising to see in Canada!

This afternoon, I suggested that my husband to clean off his car so it doesn’t pile up too much and potentially freeze. That’s what you are witnessing above.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet and fairly boring. We had hoped to do some errands, but with the weather that changed our plans. I uploaded my photos to my Instagram, I think I got some good shots.

Weight loss journey update – I’ve been on a streak for logging my food and drinking at least 10 glasses of water a day. Sadly, my steps have dwindled since we can’t do our hour walks lately. I should really figure out a workout plan I can do inside for days like these. Maybe I can find some suggestions online. If you have any suggestions let me know! My husband says it seems like I’ve slimmed down, but the scale says otherwise. Who knows!

Baby girl is wailing and I hear mad shushing from my husband, so it’s time for mom energy.

Ciao!

Posted in Daily Life as a Parent, Extra Tidbits

Dumbfounded By Youth Today

Posted in Health & Wellness

A little Sleep Deprived

  • Thigh – 25 Inches
  • Butt – 52 Inches
  • Hips – 52.5 Inches
  • Waist – 40 Inches
  • Stomach – 48 Inches
  • Chest – 47 Inches
  • Arm – 16 Inches
Posted in Daily Life as a Parent

Christmas Llama?

Now let’s talk about the weather, shall we? Yesterday the weather app on my phone called for a huge winter storm, with a wonderful weather warning attached. It was cold and rainy and the rain did turn into some ice. It began to snow early this morning, lightly might I add, and gave a dusting to our little frozen neighbourhood. It wasn’t enough to stop us from going for a much needed walk with our daughter though. 15-20 cm (or 6-8 inches, for those who use Imperial measurement system) of snow fall is what they are calling for, currently not the case. However, the snow is apparently suppose to pick up as the day goes on, but it’s already late afternoon and the snowfall still feels fairly light to me. We will see if the meteorologists are correct.

As stated, we still went for our walk today. We bundled up our baby girl in her little snow pants and jacket, her little fuzzy hat and tucked her all snug in her stroller under her favourite fluffy blanket. Her little eyes didn’t stay open for long, but can you blame her? I’d be passed out too if I was that cozy on a winter walk!

The side walks weren’t too bad for ice, it seemed to cling more on the trees, bushes and signs. The chilled winter air felt fresh and the light snow fall was magical. I decided to take my camera with me, hoping I could get some nice shots. And I did!

Now here is the topic at hand…

What the hell is with the Christmas Llamas?! I saw two on our walk around the neighbourhood, and I don’t get it. Yes, I agree llamas are super adorable animals, but why Christmas. I pondered that thought as I was taking photos and to be honest, my husband and I couldn’t figure it out. So, being the spaz that I am, when I got home I had to look it up. Now I don’t know if this is accurate, if it’s not, let me know please. But here it goes; the significance of the Christmas Llama is NOTHING! Some people believe that they became part of Christmas because there is national Llama Day in December and others just capitalized on the fact that the word llama had a lot of opportunities for puns and they are cute. There you have it folks, the origins of the Christmas Llama. Now when you come across one of these…let’s say unique…Christmas decorations or merchandise, you can laugh to yourself and just enjoy it for what it is.

I’m off to read a little bit, work on getting my measurements and progress pictures done and maybe tidy up a little bit. We will see how much energy I have. Oh and baby girl just woke up beside me wailing. Time to dash and put those to do’s on hold!

Ciao!!

Posted in Health & Wellness

Plus Size Mama and Her Weight Loss Journey

Let’s start this post with a bit about my day. It was boring! My daughter woke up very happy and cuddled up right against me. We snuggled in bed for a bit before my husband joined us for 10 minutes, it was a nice family moment for a Monday morning. The rest of the day was fairly quiet. Play time, nap struggles, prepping some hard boiled eggs and bacon so they are on hand, saving the bacon grease (Liquid Gold!), a nice long walk and dinner made. Prepped some spicy taco seasoned ground beef for quick meals for hubby as well.

As you can tell, we are trying to make meals a bit healthier and easier. Especially for myself; since I’m on a bit of a health journey again. So, let me get real with all of you.

Before I got pregnant, I was on a weight loss journey. My initial motivation was to look good in a bikini and not feel ashamed of my body any more. It had only been about four or five months before I found out I was pregnant. Throughout my pregnancy I ate healthy, putting on about 10lbs and having my beautiful healthy baby girl. Despite certain doctors looking down on me for being plus size and pregnant. Though, I was constantly told by my family physician I needed to lose weight, without offering me suggestions or help. Anyway, sorry about the bit of a rant, but back to the topic at hand.

My motivation has since changed and I’d like to be able to run around with my kids and not be out of breath. I want to live a long healthy life and set a good example. If I’m eating crap and my kids are eating healthy, what kind of message does that send?

Not to mention, as your pregnant your body changes, you gain weight and yes, thankfully you lose some weight once the baby comes out. BUT…I was stressed with breastfeeding and gained some weight back from it. Stress does terrible things to your body.

I’ve taken matters into my own hands: downloaded a calorie counting app, did some grocery shopping, increased my water intake and trying to be a little more physically active every day. Baby girl definitely helps me with that. I have decided to do more than one walk in a day and hopefully soon I can get back into the gym to lift weights again. That literally made me so happy to have that hour and a half of just focusing on weight lifting, taking care of myself, relieving some stress and spending time with my husband. To see the changes in my body, both physically and mentally, was impressive. Needless to say, I can not wait to get back in the gym.

I’ve learned that a good support system and consistency is key to changing your life. Also, don’t let anyone discourage you from changing your life for the better. Just because you are plus size, people presume that you are unhealthy, lazy and so many other negatives. You are beautiful (at any size!), strong and can do anything you set your mind to.

Prove them wrong! Find your why and stick to it. And you can accomplish anything. And please don’t think you need to start it as a new year’s resolution, you can start any time and not just in January.

To be honest, most people who start resolutions, especially those who start extremely restrictive diets and exercise regimes, tend to fail and quit shortly after starting. My advice, find what works for you because everyone is different. What works for Nancy down the street, might not work for you. I know I can’t give up my pasta and breads, so calorie counting works for me. And find an exercise you enjoy, don’t just go to the gym and have no plan. Plan out your workouts, for the week, it makes life so much easier! Last but certainly not least; a buddy system helps as well, not only for accountability, but support when you need it most.

  1. Weight – 247.4 lbs, my starting weight at pregnancy was 240 lbs
  2. Calorie intake per day – 1,771
  3. Exercise – approximately 5000-6000 steps a day, 1 walk with baby girl
  4. Diet – Lots of lean protein, veggies, fruits, nuts and little bit of carbs
  5. Measurements – Haven’t done them yet…woops!
  6. Progress photos – Haven’t done those yet either…eek!
  7. Water intake – about 10 glasses a day
  8. Sleep – What is that?! I get what I can, when I can. Baby girl dictates my sleep some nights…and some days as well as a matter of fact…
  9. Number of days into my journey – Two