subliminal

I saw this meme on mellacita's journal, and i figured i'd post it. I haven't been updating regularly, and there are a few people who are new to my list since i stopped updating regularly, so this seems like a good idea. Pass it on! :)

You know how sometimes people on your friend's list post about stuff going on in their life, and all of a sudden you think "Wait a minute? Since when are they working THERE? Since when are they dating HIM/HER? since when???" And then you wonder how you could have missed all that seemingly pretty standard information, but somehow you feel too ashamed to ask for clarification because it seems like info you *should* already know? It happens to all of us sometimes.

Please copy mine below, erase my answers putting yours in their place then post it in your journal! Please elaborate on the questions that would benefit from elaboration! One-word answers seldom help anyone out.

1. First Name: Maura

2. Age: 34

3. Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Leslieville, to be specific.

4. Occupation: Currently a stay at home mom. I'm on maternity leave for a year. I go back to work in September and i'm somewhat dreading it. When i do work, I work for a GIS Software company making cool web applications (think Google Maps, but not) and leading workshops and seminars. :)

5. Partner: Terry. We've been together 10 years, and we just had our 6th wedding anniversary on Monday. Yey us!

6. Kids: Cameron, who will be three in July, and Claire, who will be one in September. They are VERY different children. Cameron is somewhat cautious, has the most excellent grasp of language you've ever seen in a 3 year old, and is very empathetic and caring towards others. Claire is a baby with A LOT of drive and determination - she wants to keep up with the big kids and is motoring through those motor skills at lightning speed. She went down a slide for the first time today. YEY!

7. Brothers / Sisters: Mike (32), Ian (31) and sister in law Liz (33).

8. Pets: Spike, the Evil Kitty. He used to be MUCH more evil than he is now. Mostly he just sits around on the sofa these days, and tries to run away every once in a while.

9. List the 3-5 biggest things going on in your life right now:

* MOTHERHOOD. It is a constant adjustment, frequent adventure, sometimes incredibly trying, but always wonderfully fulfilling.
* I have to go back to work in 3 months. I'm trying to figure out whether i'm going back to the same place or not, and what i'm going to do for daycare.
* I'm trying to work on my marriage - having two kids puts a major strain on the relationship, and i've recently made a resolution that i have to put more work into it.


10. Where and for what did you go to school for?
Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario) for Environmental Geography; Sir Sandford Fleming College for a GIS Application Specialist post-diploma program.

11. Parents
My mom and my dad are both retired, though they still do some work (my dad does consulting in his industry, and my mom works for a Catholic magazine - yes, i was raised VERY catholic). They live nearby - they recently moved closer to us, ostensibly to be closer to the kids. They come by and help out when they can. :)

12. Who are some of your closest friends?
Terry, Alison, Joanna, Vivian and Martha. And i miss me my mellacita like woah.

With a photo of the mama kitteh who gave birth to baby kittehs at bitofaspaz's place. :D

http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/view.aspx?ciid=1218312

This required an update. It really, really did.

I am a size 6.

SIZE MOTHERFUCKING SIX.

125lbs.

Trying for a 4 now, ftw!!!!!!!!!!

Having the stomach flu from hell really did help. A LOT.

I haven't posted about this in the few posts i've made since Claire was born, and i really should have. I started Weight Watchers again in November. I gave myself two months after Claire was born before starting a diet - when you are breastfeeding, you're supposed to wait that long before starting a diet to allow your milk supply to become established. For those two months i ate whatever i wanted - helloooooooo Quarter Pounder with Cheese! Despite this, i lost weight pretty easily during my post-partum phase. I was 195 before birth, 180-ish after birth, and 158lbs when i started WeightWaters in November. I guess tandem nursing and running around after a toddler really works!

Starting stats:
158lbs
Size 14
BMI = 29

Now:
136lbs
Size 8-10 (I fit into my size 8 jeans today, GO ME OMG!)
BMI = 24.9, and officially NOT OVERWEIGHT!

Goal:
120lbs
Size 6? I think?
BMI = 22

The fact that my BMI officially puts me into the normal weight category is a major thing for me. As are the size 8 jeans. I had become so used to thinking of myself as being FAT, because i had been fat for the better part of 10 years. I slowly started putting weight on 10 years ago, lost a bunch on a low carb diet before i got married (went down to 128lbs), but then ballooned back up again 5 years ago. :P I'm really going to try to keep it off permanently this time, because i like being thinner. I feel so much better about myself, and so much healthier at this weight.

Anyways, i posted some photos to ww_vanity today because i'm in need of some motivation. I haven't lost a lot of weight since january, because i haven't been sticking to my diet, and i'd really like to be a size six by summer. I know size isn't everything - beleive me, i KNOW - but i would like to be healthier and leaner over all. :)

( PICS! Gratuitous Claire cuteness included! )

I really need to get some Claire iconzes. :)

I found my first grey (white) hair today.

It is not on my head.

TMI?

I feel pretty lucky that i've made it to 34 before finding the first grey (white), and the fact that it isn't anywhere that'd be visible to anybody but me or Terry is fine and dandy by me.

Livejournal is trying to sneak this one under the radar - there is no mention about it in the most recent news post.

Accounts created after March 12, 2008 will no longer be able to switch to the basic level, meaning that all new accounts will either be Plus or Paid accounts. (Source). Thanks to the_lj_herald for the info. They got it from a post on no_lj_ads .

Quelle suck. Don't like this change? Try commenting on the most recent news post like a lot of other folk have.

I changed my journal subtitle to "still here, but silent", however there are a few things i have to write about or else i will forget them. There are many things i should have written about in the past 6 months, but i shall have to do the best i can with the memories that i have.

I was reading stories with Cameron tonight before bed. We were reading But Not the Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton. For those who are unfamiliar with the book, it tells the story of a lonely little Hippo who is watching all the other animals do fun things like go to the fair and shop for hats. The other animals get to do cool stuff, "but not the hippopotamus." When the others realize that the Hippo is feeling left out they come back and ask her to join them. With a big YES, she runs off to play with them, so happy to be included. The last page concludes with "but not the armadillo," and shows a picture of a sad armadillo who has nobody to play with.

Tonight, we got to the end of the book, and Cameron started BAWLING. He was so incredibly sad for this little armadillo who was left out of all the fun. He cried for the armadillo for a good five minutes before calming down. He then made up his own ending for the story where the hippo takes the armadillo home and gives him juice and makes sure he is happy.

Poor, sad Cameron! He's such a sensitive kid, and so caring. We tried to turn it into a lesson that we could use, and talked to him about he could play with other kids who are feeling left out in group-play situations, and i hope that worked. That big burst of empathy from Cameron truly took me by surprise.

I have a Claire moment to share, too. Do you ever have those moments that are perfect moments? I had one yesterday with Claire. She'd just woken up from the nap (she sleeps on the big bed in the master bedroom, just like Cameron did), and i'd gone up to get her. I lay beside her and nursed her a little bit before getting her up. When she was done, she started playing with my hands. In the perfect, wonderful silence of the bedroom, i held my hand up, and she rested her little palm against mine for a long while and just stared at our hands.

She is so sweet and precious, and i have so much to tell you about her. ♥

I'll leave you with these for now. I hope to update more regularly from now on. Life with 2 kids (plus a need to be asleep by roughly 930pm at night) gives me little time online.

Claire, 5.5 months (those are bitofaspaz's hands)


Cameron, 2.5 years


I'm hitting the "Post Entry" button in semagic for the first time in months. Feels wierd.

( Claire's first week )

I am wearing actual CLOTHES, as opposed to a nightgown. YAY.

Claire Nicole Bretz
Born September 12th, 9:18am
9lbs 6oz (o.O)
Via successful VBAC. Go me.



Thank you for the good wishes on that last post, everybody! Am exhausted and recovering so i can't spend much time online right now. She's doing wonderfully, and is getting the hang of nursing. I'm kind of sore, but it's better than yesterday, which is a good thing. More later when i have some time to get online.