Columbus Zoo

Moodle's first trip to the zoo was wonderful. Although, I promised to show her a giraffe and a hippo, not knowing they had neither. Seriously, it's the Columbus Zoo, one of the best in the country, and they don't have a giraffe or a hippo?

She traveled well, although she's becoming more vocal, and so asking for more toys and attention. This meant I had to travel in the backseat with her instead of in the front seat with Max Powers, but that too shall pass. She ate great, she slept great in the hotel, and she followed instructions much better than a not-quite two year old should.

She had a few behavior missteps, but they were rectified with short breaks away from the action to calm down. And we had quite a few compromises between riding in the stroller and walking through the zoo. Good exercise for her anyway, so it wasn't exactly a horrible thing that she wanted to do more walking.

The party was wonderful. Moodle didn't love how rowdy the big kids were (but she never does). She loved touching the animals, though, and loosened up just before the end of the party to play with some of the other kids.

A nice side effect was that Max Powers realized she wasn't quite ready to fully enjoy the zoo enough to get a membership to our local park. She had fun, but there are a lot of no's at the zoo. No touching the animals, no running away from your parents, no taking off your sunhat and throwing it in with the bonobos. So we'll save that for another year.

Moodle's First Injury

Moodle fell last week. She stumbled leaving daycare with Daddy, and smashed her face on the pavement. She was holding Daddy's hand, but she let go when she fell.

Daddy had help from the ladies at school, and by the time they got home, she was calm and fine, and sucking on a frozen sponge. Daddy was rattled and jittery the rest of the night, though.

She ended up with a split and swollen lip, some scratches on her chin, and possibly a little chipped tooth. We're going to the doc soon for her two-year check-up, and we have to get to the dentist soon anyway, so we're not worried.

Just two more days, and we'll reach two years old with no trips to the emergency room!

Storage Wars

It's lame to write a blog post about a TV show. I know.

My favorite part of Storage Wars is when Darrell dances. My least favorite part is the never-ending string of cliches and weird catch phrases. "At the end of the day, I'll put in the elbow grease to take that $35 bill all the way to the bank, because that's the wow factor!" Four cliches and one catch phrase in one sentence is tough not to mock.

My Weight, May 16, 2012

181.2

Not actually the highest I've measured lately, but still way too high.

Ate eggs and bacon for breakfast, and still not hungry at 10:30 am. Pretty good.

Remember self, breakfast cereal will not keep you full, it will just keep you fat!

Setting a Better Example

Ah, the dreaded weight. Max and I have both gained back the weight we fought so hard to lose. A year ago, we were both 25 pounds lighter than we are today.

So you might start seeing some numbers here. Because I have to be accountable somewhere. And I'm still burnt out of tracking foods on WW. Max is going back to tracking.

I think I'm not going to fight as hard to lose the weight this time. Baby steps. Hopefully I won't burn out again.

For Moodle!

Western Olemets for Breakfast

I'm trying to eat a little better these days, which lately has meant cutting back on carb-heavy meals in favor of lean proteins and veggies.

This morning, I made western omelets for Max and I. Of course, we shared with Maggie, who kept asking for more 'olemets'. Cracked me up. Just wanted that down for posterity.

And I'll happily forget that the 20 minutes prior to that, she did nothing but say 'no' and cry.

Still Clinging To the Nap For Now

I guess I needn't have worried.  Are you seeing a pattern with my posts? Worry about something, calm down, and then report it's fine.

Same with the nap.  A review of her weekly nap sheet at school shows she only skipped one nap this week. Her naps this weekend were shorter, but they were still there.

We had a great weekend, and I think part of it was that she got the rest she needed. No meltdowns or tantrums. She was really tired at the end of each day, but a calm, controlled tired that succumbed to a little quiet time after dinner, instead of thrashing her way to an early bedtime.